Cardfight! Vanguard: Hikari to Yami
by rcybs
Summary: AU with some elements from the anime. Izumi Hisa is a normal girl though secretly she plays the game: Cardfight! Vanguard, but only when she wants to. When one day, she received a card that changed her way of life forever. Watch as she grows alongside her friends as she finds out more about her "suppose" destiny.
1. A beginning

**A/N: Hi there! This is my first time writing a fanfic for Cardfight! Vanguard. I have been dying to write one, but time was a factor and my ideas were flowing out of hand. ****I currently don't have a solid update schedule for this fanfic. I will try my best to update as fast as I can, but this fanfic is a lot more work than my other two fanfics. The few things you will notice is that _this_ is a AU with some elements from the anime, but not a whole lot. **

**There will be chapters with no battles, because it took me almost five hours to write this. It took me literally one hour to write just the battle in this chapter, because of spelling and keeping count on the cards along with damage count. So if you are looking for a heavy battle fanfic, this is not for you, because it will not be Cardfighting centered rather it will center more on the players themselves. **

**Also I liked to note that this is not Beta at all, so there is a bit of grammar mistakes here and there. **

**Read and Review. Please no flames or else I will take this fanfic down. I'm a very sensitive writer and I don't like to displease readers. **

* * *

Everyone knows about the game: Cardfight! Vanguard. Its the most popular thing for kids these days even adults play this game. A fun game that everyone enjoys whether on a rainy day or sunny day. Some play, others chooses to watch the matches. There has been tournaments and competitions all around the world hosting this game even people who are normally couch potatoes enjoy watching them.

Schools have also prepare some classes that is only about Cardfight! Vanguard. They are mostly about how to use your cards to the fullest while maintaining a cool head in the game. It wasn't a class requirement, more of a hobby/club thing, so schools decided to cancel classes with that and allow only clubs. Since there was an extreme number of people wanting to do better in the game, a few schools and colleges were created just for that. The game became parts of people's lives which is saying a lot considering it's a children's card game.

Everyone was starting to forget how fun the game was and many are just playing for the prizes and titles. It wasn't a fun game anymore, now its a competition to fight to the top. It wasn't the same much anymore, no one truly smiled at the fun anymore, now its just an endless stream of victory means everything. Some never forgot about how fun the game was still and how much it can change someone for the good or bad.

For one girl, the game was a step to a greater destiny.

* * *

Birds were chirping in the sky, clouds moving slowly and the morning dew was sparkling in the light. Flowers were opening up for the day and people were bustling around.

Sunlight was seeping into a small room through an open window. A body of a girl was sleeping quietly while noises from below was echoing through her house. White walls decorated the room with small posters of random animes and drawings. A bookshelf was placed above a small table that had a laptop on it along with a cup of pencils, a photo and other small items. A small red rimmed coat was laying on the chair with a brown bag over it. The sunlight decided that the girl had enough sleep already and shined onto her face. It caused her to open her crimson eyes and she started to move from under the covers.

The girl was 16 years old. Her long waist length brown hair was a blurry mess and her face was with a frown. Although people claim she is a cute girl, she is often wearing a frown on her face. She started to get up to go the restroom to start her daily routine of going to school. After taking a short shower and brushing her hair straight to not look like a mess, she dressed in her outfit which consist of a yellow short sleeved shirt with a black skirt. Grabbing her coat and bag, she stepped down the stairs to grab her breakfast.

Her little brother was already there. His sharp purple eyes and black short length hair made him a little hard to approach. He is 8 years old and is currently one of the popular boys in his grade. The girls would talk about him from time to time making other boys a little jealous about him. He is generally silent and doesn't talk much unless it was to answer a question. Eating his breakfast quietly, his sister patted him on the head, sitting down to enjoy her breakfast. Their dad was busy making their lunches.

Their dad was of average height for a 33 year old man. He has black hair and purple eyes, so her brother inherited his features from him. He was quite handsome and is very kind to everyone. He was dressed in a plain white shirt and black pants with an apron to shield his clothes from the food.

After finishing their breakfast, they placed their dishes away in the sink. Grabbing their stuff and giving their dad a kiss on the cheek, they went on their way to school.

"Are you going to work today, Izumi?" her brother asked while walking down the path to school. Izumi Hisa looked at her brother at his question and smiled back.

"Yes, of course. I thought you know that already?" she laughed at her little brother.

"Can I come along?" he asked. Izumi tilted her head with a smile.

"Sure, but just stay near the counter okay? I heard that it will be pretty busy today with players wanting to complete or better their chances at winning. Stay out of trouble, okay Hiro. Promise?" she asked him. He nodded back. It was fun having her little brother along with her at work.

"Are you going to playing Cardfight?" he asked her as they walked.

Izumi thought for a moment. She doesn't hate the game. She does enjoy playing it from time to time with trial decks and such, but lately players have been caring more about winning than having fun. Even the players she sometimes see playing against each other were in it for the wins.

"Maybe. I dunno..." she looked down at her feet.

After reaching the intersection, they turned to go their own way to school since they are in different grades.

She was thinking about what to do when she goes to school today. It was Saturday, so classes were cut short and tomorrow was a free day. Hopefully work would not be too much of a hassle today. Usually it isn't crowded, but with the announcements of tournaments often very random at times makes it hard to know when the workload will be either heavy or light. She just hopes there will not be screaming kids everywhere today. She does love children, but they can be a handful.

When she arrived at school, students were all talking about something that didn't interested her. Heading to class, she encountered her somewhat best friend, Haru Leika. She was a petite girl with orange hair and a tiny bow on the left side of it. Her blue eyes shone with kindness and eagerness. Wearing a light yellow blouse and a short yellow skirt to match her sunny personality. Her socks goes all the way up to her shins and there was what appears to be bow on the top part of each of them. She smiled when Izumi came closer.

"Hey, Izumi. What are you planning to do after school?" she asked as they walked together to class.

"You know I have work today, Haru. I don't have time to do anything today since the shop is very busy today," she told her as they walked inside the classroom.

"Awww...You need to tell me where you work, so that we can talk to each other more better. School and Sundays are just not cutting out," Haru sat down on her seat next to Izumi.

"Maybe one day..." she said to her as they got ready for class. Although they are friends, she didn't like to share her private life with others.

The bell rang and the other students went to their seats. The teacher came in with another person with him. The others were wondering who he was.

"Good morning, class. Today we have a new student joining us today. Why don't you introduce yourself?" he said to the new student.

The new student was a tall male just a bit taller than Izumi by a head so around 5ft 6in. His messy black hair and sharp ocean blue eyes made him seem serious. His handsome features along with his slightly frowning look made him a target for girls for some reasons. Wearing a white short sleeved shirt with a white rimmed dark blue coat over it and a pair of black pants to match. He had an ear piercing on his right ear that is shaped like a rose that is silver in color and a black laced bracelet on his left hand that has a cross, a angel, a demon and card charms attached to it. Everything about him made it clear to the others that he will be a cool guy and very mysterious to boot.

"Hello. My name is Kyousuke Miara. Nice to meet you all and I hope to get to know you," he said in a rather monotone voice. If that was to make an impression on the students, it didn't do much. The teacher pointed to a desk near Izumi and Haru. Kyousuke walked to his seat and sat down with his eyes looking downward.

While the teacher was writing things on the board, Kyousuke was sleeping on the desk. Izumi was busy writing down the things on the board when Haru poked her and pointed to the back. Izumi sweat dropped at what she saw and Haru just laughed quietly.

Izumi was packing up her stuff while Haru waved good-bye to her. Kyousuke was still somewhat sleepy until she shook him awake. He stirred a little and opened his eyes. Rubbing them and yawning off the sleep from his body, he stared up to see Izumi looking at him.

"What?" he asked as he stretched out his limbs.

"Well you somehow slept through class and lunch which is pretty impressive though its bad for you, you know? Anyways, school is over. Time to go home...?" she said as she grabbed her bag. Kyousuke shook his head awake and started to walk out of the room. Students were changing their shoes. Its school rule that everyone would remove their normal shoes and change into shoes that are provided by the school. It was rude to wear your own shoes into school even teachers do it as well.

Izumi was walking to her workplace before that she went to pick up her younger brother to bring him along with her to work. Her boss was a very kind man and allowed her to bring Hiro many times in the past. After picking him up from school, they walked together to the card shop. They arrived outside of C&D card shop of Trades and Sells. Her boss greeted her with a smile and patted Hiro on the head. She went to put on her worker outfit while her brother went behind the counter to play on Izumi's laptop. He rarely do anything other than that.

Izumi came out and stood on her seat at the counter. The shop opens at around 9am and closes around 6pm, so her boss generally have to do all the work by himself. He has two sons, but they were away at college and his wife is a stay at home type. So when Izumi went to find a job, he had a spot open. Seeing the chance, she took it even though she would be surrounded by Cardfight everyday, she didn't mind it as most of them are kids. It was nice to see children enjoy the game while smiling. She was enjoying her time at the shop, making rounds and helping the kids on their decks.

A group of older students came into the shop. Wearing black overcoats, strange hair style with even weirder outfits to boot. They were a bunch of idiots and often play rough against new players. The other kids generally hide behind Izumi a lot when they come over. They didn't like them and find Izumi to be their older sister at times. Although they are rude and such, they are still customers of the shop. The leader approached Izumi.

"Hello, sweetie. Want to go on a date with me?" he asked. The leader was wearing a white shirt with a black coat on, black pants and black shoes. His face was none too pretty, but passable. His haircut was clean shaven and was normal unlike the rest of him. His breath could use a mint and his attitude a wash at that. Izumi turned her head and crossed her arms at his question signaling that she wasn't interested.

"How may we help you today?" said her boss from behind. When her boss smell trouble, he discard his carefree self and go on the defense. He was used to them coming here a lot so it was a routine type of thing.

The leader just huffed while bringing out some bags. The kids are often curious at what the group brings, but are generally too scared to ask. He toss the bags onto the counter.

"I would like to sell these cards please," he told Izumi while waiting for her answer.

She went to grab the bags and opened them to see what he meant. There was loads of cards from all different clans inside, some were even in booster packs that has yet to be opened. She inspects them to see if they are fake or real. She also allowed her boss to see them as well to get a second opinion. Seeing that they were not fake and such, she reached into the register to withdraw the money. Counting the money, the leader and his gang went back to their usual hangout. When they left, the kids went back to battling each other and trading cards with each other.

Izumi went to put the cards on display and such. The booster packs were a little battered and dirty making it hard to display as it would ruin the count of booster packs and be weird looking. So she kept them in another bag for the time being. The day went without an event.

At an alleyway...

The leader and his group was talking to each other about what to do with the money they got.

"It was fun battling for keeps," one grunt said aloud. The others agreed.

"At least the cards were worth something," another said. They were all laughing and patting each other at the back.

"Where should we hit now?" the others asked their leader. He pondered on this as there were only a few places left. While thinking of an answer, a person appeared to them. They turned to see who that person was.

"What do you want?" one of them asked.

"Are you guys the one who defeated the players over at the nearby park from a block here?" the figure said.

"Who's asking?" the leader said while the figure just smirked at them with his blue eyes glowing.

Izumi was closing up for the day Hiro was sleeping on her shoulder so it made it a little difficult to close the shop, but she always manage to in the end. Her boss came to her looking a little dismay.

"I'm sorry, Izumi. I can't pay you today even though it is the end of the month," he sadly admitted. "The bills are racking up and I can't afford to pay you right now. Business is rather slow today too, so I'm very sorry."

Izumi understands. With his wife and kids busy with their own things, her boss has to manage the shop on his own. It wasn't easy, but it keeps him on his feet. Hearing this, she was disappointed. Life is a roulette at times, you spin it hoping to get a good thing and it ends at a bad thing. Nothing in life is free.

Then she remembered something. She reached before the counter while balancing Hiro on her shoulders, the bag of booster packs that they brought from the gang today. Her boss was confused at what she was doing.

"Well you can pay me with these," she said as she opened the bag with the dirty and slightly battered packs. Her boss thought for a minute, but agreed to it. It was the best he could do at short notice plus Izumi deserves them as she worked very hard at her job. He waved good-bye to her as he closed the shop up for the night.

She was walking down the path to home and thinking about what to do tomorrow. Hiro was still sleeping on her shoulder, moving softly around her shoulder. She smiled sweetly at him and rubbed his back to help him relax. A stranger with an heavy trench coat and a hat was walking down her path. Without any warning, they bumped into each other. Dropping their bags and things on the ground while falling down. Hiro was startled awake when he felt Izumi fell down.

They, then, slowly recovered from the initial shock. Hiro got off of his sister to see if she was okay. She nodded that she was fine.

"I'm so sorry about that," she said to the man as she started to pick up his stuff for him. The man was not answering instead he started to pick up the items on the ground.

He then noticed a black plastic bag on the floor. Reaching for it and opening it, he saw some booster packs in it. The thing was that he could sense something from them as in his eyes, they were all glowing a bright white light. He smiled and without Izumi noticing added an extra something into the bag. After finding all the man's things, she reached out to help him get up. He grabbed her hand and got up.

"This must be your's because I know I wasn't carrying a black bag," he said to her as he handed her the bag. She seemed relief at finding them and bowed to show that she was sorry. He calmly told her that it was fine and continued to walk down the path. She watched him go and wondered who he was. Hiro was pulling her hand signaling that he wanted to be carried. So she bends down to pick him up and continued down their path home not knowing that this encounter will change her life.

Meanwhile Kyousuke was walking down to his home, sporting some bruises on his face. People were avoiding him as he walk. He was thinking of something when a stranger slammed into him. They both fell hard on their bums and was rubbing their heads.

"Hey, man! Watch where you are going!" Kyousuke shouted to him as he was getting up.

The man was not listening to him much, he was looking at a box on the ground. It was glowing bright red and Kyousuke quickly went to grab it back. He was checking if his cards were okay. Seems like this one is another one. Getting up from the ground, he reached into his pocket and pulled a booster pack.

"Here. My apologies to you for bumping into you," he said as he extended his hand to Kyousuke. Seeing that there was no harm done and all, Kyousuke reached for the pack and continued on his way. He didn't see the man smile as he walked away.

"We're home!" Izumi shouted out as she took off her shoes and helped Hiro out of his coat. Her dad was in the kitchen cooking something and didn't noticed his kids coming home. She went to grab a drink from the refrigerator and went to see what he was making. Her dad, seeing her from behind, motioned her away. Sticking out her tongue at her dad as she walked away. He just shook his head back and forth at his daughter's antics.

Hiro was busy with watching TV in the living room so she decided to check out her grab for the day. Reaching her room in record time, she flopped down on her chair and began to count her goodies. There was 11 packs in the bag and she was hoping that she would get some good cards. Although she does play Cardfight, she usually uses a trial deck and its more of a showcase than an actual deck. Secretly she has been making her own deck, but was missing a few key cards. Using a small drawer key, she unlocked her desk drawer and brought out her deck box. She then proceed to organize her deck from the top to bottom.

Her deck was a Royal Paladin deck. She grew up listening to her mother's stories about knights and justice, so she decided this was the clan for her. It remembered her the fond memories of her mother teaching her how to play the game and her crazy stories about the units themselves.

* * *

"_Then he went to go inside without knowing what he was in for," her mother spoke. Young Izumi listened to her mother's stories with an attentive ear._

"_A bucket of water then proceed to drop on him as he opened the door. The other knights jumped up and started to laugh. What they didn't know was that instead of the bucket falling on Prince Alfred, it was actually their vice-captain. Alfred was just behind him, looking shocked at the event," she chuckled out, "When the other soldiers calmed down, they noticed that Alfred was dry as a bone though not the one under the bucket. It took them a good minute to realized who was under the bucket. A dark menacing aura was emitting from the person, making Alfred backed away and the other soldiers cowered in fear. Let's just say they didn't go without punishment." Her mother finished the story with a finger to her mouth sealing the deal._

"_More mommy, please?" Izumi begged, but her mother only laughed._

"_Maybe tomorrow sweetie," she gave a kiss on her forehead and tucked her in for bed._

"_Promise?" her daughter whispered back as she fell into a sleep._

"_Promise," her mother smiled back._

* * *

Tears were starting to fell down, but she quickly wipe them away. She needs to be strong for her family. Looking at her cards, she was missing some Grade 3s and Grade 2s. She just hoped the packs she got from work will help her. Picking one pack up, she carefully open it.

In the end, after 10 packs...nothing. She was able to get a Gallatin, Glancelot, two Wingals, three Marron, two Epona and Flogal. The rest were all mixed clans and were not the ones she was looking for. She frowned at her luck and planted her chin on the desk. If her luck is this bad then she should have gone with buying singles instead. Then again buying singles will hard on her wallet, seeing how the prices on the cards itself is...well if you know this game a lot then you know how hard it is to afford the cards. She reached for the last pack while looking rather sad at her luck. When she looked at the pack, it was different from the ones she opened which was weird as all the others were similar to each other.

Shrugging it off, she opened it anyways. There was only one card in it which was strange as there are normally 5 cards. She didn't really care as her luck will not be changing for a long while or so she thinks.

When she turned it to face her, she was meant with Blaster Blade. Her eyes widened at the sight. He is a rare card to find and even harder to obtain. In fact, there haven't been much of anything about him other than a simple rumor. Izumi couldn't believe her luck. She was smiling on the inside, now her deck is truly complete. Looking silently at her cards, she remembers softly of what her mother told her when she was young.

* * *

"_If you need someone or anyone at all, the cards will always be there for you. Kinda like me," her mother gently rocked young Izumi._

"_Mommy! They are just cards! They aren't real!" she said. Her mother laughed at her sweetly._

"_Of course, they are! Every unit is different and they live on a world much like ours," her mother spoke. Izumi was doubtful though at that and had a confused face at her mother._

"_You'll see. When you get older, it will all make sense. Trust me," she spoke to Izumi as she patted her head._

* * *

She still didn't understand what she meant by that, however, her deck was finished. Putting them in sleeves and carefully counting them to make sure that she has the right amount of cards along with the right cards as well, she placed her deck back into her deck box. Seeing that it was barely 7:45 pm, she headed down to see if dinner was almost ready. Her dad was still in the kitchen. It seems that he is busy with baking something, so she went to the living room to watch some TV with Hiro.

Back at her room, a slight glow was coming from her drawer where her deck now lays.

Their dad walked into the living room and saw his kids being couch potatoes again. He sighed and patted them on the head to signal that dinner is ready. They went to the table and started to eat your dinner. Most of the time, they don't often talk a lot when eating so it was generally quiet. After finishing their dinner, they placed their dishes in the sink. Going to their rooms, Hiro started to do his homework while Izumi was thinking about what to wear for tomorrow. Placing her clothes for tomorrow, she went to go take a shower. When she came out, she was wearing her pj's and was busy drying her hair. Yawning and stretching for a bit, she got ready to sleep for the night. She slipped into her bed and in a few minutes fell into a deep sleep.

The glow from her drawer grew brighter and filled the room in light.

* * *

In her dream, she was standing in a green field full of flowers and trees. The grass were littered with wild flowers and the trees were health as a leaf. Butterflies were fluttering near the flowers while birds were calmly chirping in their nests. Next to the field was a rocky plain that was split into a tunnel. The two sides were almost the same except for some rocks near it. She thought this place was so beautiful. She wished it was real though. When she looked up at the sky, she was amazed at what she saw. The sky was clear as day and the clouds were floating quietly in the sky, however, that was not what made her jaw dropped. The sky was fill with planets, big ones and small ones as well. She thought she had seen Jupiter or maybe an undiscovered planet. This dream was getting weirder by the second.

Then the place shattered into pieces and Izumi fell down into a dark tunnel. She closed her eyes, hoping for her to wake up soon. When she opened her eyes, the tunnel was not black anymore instead there were cards flowing freely around her.

"What's going on here?!" she screamed out loud as she suddenly stopped moving. Looking around her for an exit so that she can leave this dream.

"_**Don't be afraid**_," a voice called out to her.

She stopped her thinking and listened for a bit. The voice was so familiar somehow.

"_**Everything will be okay. You'll understand what you have to do**_," the voice told her gently.

Before she could say anything, she was thrust into a bright light. She quickly shielded her eyes from the light, reaching out with her hand to the light.

* * *

Izumi woke up with a jolt. She was panting and sweating a bit from her dream. It seems so real for so reason and she just don't know why. Shaking off the dream, she went to the restroom to get ready for her day off. She came out wearing a light blue blouse with a small blue lace ribbon on her neck, a white sweater was covering her blouse and her white short skirt. She went to her desk to grab her small purse when she saw her charm bracelet. Unlike Kyousuke's one, her's was white laced with a rose, snowflake, sun and moon charms. It was a gift from her mother when she was young, so it was a precious gift then again it would be a waste to not wear it. She decided to wear it on her left arm. She grabbed her white cap to help block out the sunlight.

About to leave her room, she suddenly felt a compulsion to bring her deck along. Opening her drawer, she withdrew her deck. Looking back, she did want to test her deck out though she really had no place to really test her deck. She didn't want to test it against the kids in the cardshop, because they look up to her.

Thinking too much, she didn't realize that she would be late. Not looking at what she was doing, she ended up putting her deck in her purse and walked out of her room. Hiro was waiting downstairs for his sister to come down. He was dressed in a small white T-shirt that was covered over by his brown coat with a pair of shorts. Izumi has to bring Hiro along a lot of times, because her dad was too busy at his work to take care of them at times so she ended up having to take care of him since he was little. Izumi went to grab her shoes and checked to see if she had everything.

"Shoes...purse...sweater...cap...little brother.." she turned to see Hiro looking at her funny. Seeing that she had everything, she opened the door to start her day. Walking down to the station to meet up with Haru and go to their favorite snacking place. She just hope that Haru wasn't mad at her being slightly late.

Haru was looking at her watch while waiting for her best friend to come over with her little brother. She was wearing a white blouse and a short skirt with a purse on her shoulder. Her hair had a little bow on the left side and has a small necklace around her neck. Izumi ran over to Haru with Hiro right behind her.

She was breathing heavy from the running. Hiro was too, but was greeted with a hug from Haru who picked him up.

"So sorry for that! I was doing something and didn't notice the time," Izumi explained to her friend.

"If you say so," Haru rolled her eyes at her friend, "Let's go before they run out of strawberry shortcakes!"

They spent the entire day shopping and eating. Hiro ended up falling asleep a while later, so they took turn carrying him around. They didn't find much that suited their tastes these days. There was a couple of sales, but they didn't want to talk about it...lets just say that it involved pulling and stomping.

"Look at this, Izumi. There seems to be something interesting happening later this month," Haru said as they ate their ice-cream cones. Izumi was handing Hiro his ice cream cone while turning to see what Haru was talking about. It was a poster of a Cardfight! Vanguard tournament that is upcoming in the next five months. She was interested, but with school is that really an option?

They ended up walking to the park where they sat down while watching Hiro play around the playground.

"Whew! What a day today! Man, I haven't be this active since middle school!" Haru shouted as she sat down with a sigh.

Izumi was watching Hiro as he played in the sandbox while listening to Haru. "At least we are enjoying the day," she said, "Hopefully something new comes up." Haru nodded in agreement. There was nothing going on in this town other than some random thieves and accidents even then it was just a small thing. People tend to forget about things like that.

A bunch of yelling can be heard from a distance, making it hard for Haru to relax. She was feeling a need to shout at some kids. She never yells at Hiro, because he is young and cute. Other kids...not so much. She got up and started to walk to the commotion while Izumi went to grab Hiro so that she could follow her. There was a group of kids yelling at a older kid.

"No fair! You never said anything about keeping cards!" one kid shouted.

"Well sorry if I left it out! Come on, now gimme your card! I won fair and square!" the older kid said.

"You never said that we're playing for keeps!" the kid declared back.

"Hey! What's the big idea yelling in the middle of the park!? I can hear from a mile away!" Haru shouted at them with an pissed off face.

"Actually Haru, we were about 7 feet away..." Izumi whispered to her from behind.

One of the kids ran up to Izumi and started to pull on her. The child was a young girl with orange pigtails and wearing a small yellow dress.

"Izumi onee-chan, can you help us?" she asked with a sad face.

"On what, Hana?" Izumi said to her while patting her head. She was used to calming down the kids in the shop all the time plus having a younger sibling helps with knowing about what to do with other kids.

"This boy is a meanie. He said that he was playing for fun, but was actually playing for keeps. He lied and that's bad," she said with a cute pout on her face.

Izumi sweat dropped at this. "Oh boy..." she muttered quietly. The other kids gathered around her and started to tell her to teach the boy a lesson. Haru was quietly snickering to herself at her friend.

_Such a mother hen, but I wouldn't mind having a older sister like her _she thought to herself.

"Hey! Are you going to ignore me here?" the boy asked. He looked to be just 10 years old and was wearing a yellow t-shirt along with pant shorts.

Izumi sighed and decided that she needed to take care of this before it goes out of hand. She approached them.

"Hi. From what I can gather, it seems that you should follow your rules and you can't have this kid's cards," she said as politely as she can.

"No way! We fought on a fairground and rules are rules," the boy said. Then Hana ran up to him.

"That's not fair! We heard you say that you were going to play for fun," Hana said.

"Well I changed my mind," the boy said.

"Well then Onee-chan here is a much better fighter than you!" she declared to him. That made everything worse to say the least and that is just being honest here. Izumi groaned while Haru perked up in interest.

"I didn't know you play Vanguard..." she said to Izumi.

"Its a complex thing right now...," Izumi answered back.

"Fine then I challenge you to a fight. If I win, I get his cards. If I lose, I'll allow him to keep his cards. Deal?" he said to Izumi.

_This is not what I had in mind today_ she thought in her head. Seeing no choice, she nodded and went to stand at the table.

The young girl went up to her. "Do you need a deck? I know you usually play a trial deck, but you can borrow one of ours. We don't mind," she said to her. Izumi was about to say something when she felt an impulse from somewhere around here. She looked at her purse and went to search inside it. Her deck was inside her purse the whole time and she didn't even noticed.

"Thanks, but I think I will use my own deck. Don't worry I won't lose," she said to her. The little girl hopped down to the others while waiting for the match to begin. Hiro was sitting on Haru's lap while she was holding on to him as he was falling asleep.

"Stand up, Vanguard!" both shouted out loud.

"Lizard Runner, Undeux!"

"Stardust Trumpeter!"

Two units are on the battlefield. On side, a young red haired girl wearing light white clothes appeared with a trumpet in her hand. The opposite side had a tall red winged lizard wearing light armor plates appeared.

"Lady's first," the boy said at her. Drawing her card and looking at her hand, she grabbed one.

"I ride Little Sage, Marron!," the young girl disappeared from the field and now a young boy giant wearing a red rimmed glasses with a book in his hand appeared on the field, "I end my turn."

The boy drew his card and placed a card on the field as well. "I ride Embodiment of Armor, Bahr!", the lizard disappeared and now a demon with a red armor was in it's place. It looked very menacing, but that would not make a difference. "I call another one to the right and Flame of Hope, Aermo behind my vanguard Bahr. Now I attack with my rearguard Bahr to your Marron!"

Bahr launched himself up and slashed down on Marron causing boy pain. Izumi checked for her damage, revealing a Knight of Convictions, Bor to the damage zone.

"Now I attack with my vanguard Bahr boosted by Aermo!" He turned over the top card of his deck to check for trigger and it wasn't a trigger, but Dragon Monk, Goku. Once more again, Marron was attacked by the sword leaving him in scratches from the battle that unfolded. Izumi revealed Knight of the Harp, Tristan into the damage zone. "I end my turn," the boy said.

Battle report:

Boy: 0 damage Hand: 4

Izumi: 2 damage Hand: 5

Underturned, Izumi draw a card adding it to her hand. "I ride Knight of Silence, Gallatin!" A bright blue aura surrounded Marron and out appeared a dark skinned soldier with a blindfold to this eyes, he took a stance to signal he was ready to fight. "I ride another Gallatin and Tristan!" Another Gallatin appeared to the left of the vanguard with Tristan appearing to the right.

"I attack your rearguard Bahr with Tristain!" Tristan took his stance and slashed Bahr across his body. Bahr disappeared, but not before letting a growl. Tristin retreated back to his position on the battlefield. "Then I attack your vanguard with my rearguard Gallatin!"

"No guard," the boy muttered.

The right Gallatin reached for his sword and like his title said was silent when he slashed Bahr.

"Tck. Damage check," the boy reached his top card and revealed Wyvern Strike, Tejas.

"I attack with my vanguard Gallatin!" she turned the card on its side and Gallatin went to battle again. She revealed her top card which was Solitary Knight, Glancelot and placed him in her hand. A deep growl can be heard from Bahr as he sustained more damage.

"Damage check," the boy revealed Wyvern Strike, Jarran to the damage zone.

"I end my turn," she said with sigh.

Battle report

Boy: 2 damage Hand: 4

Izumi: 2 damage Hand: 4

The boy stand his cards and draw a card to add to his hand. "Why do you even have such a weak card in your deck? Strong cards are the way to go and with such weak cards in your deck you can't go far in this game," he asked.

Izumi looked up in surprise. "Well they may be weak cards, but that doesn't mean anything at all. It just makes them a little different from the rest," she said to him.

"You talk as if they were real people which they are not. Its just a game and the cards themselves are only useful if they are powerful anyways," he said to her.

"Well they may be fake to you, but there are some that believe that they are real. At least to their hearts they are. Being powerful doesn't make any difference when it comes to strength and numbers," she muttered out. Her deck glowed a slight bright aura without her noticing.

The boy payed no attention to her. "I ride Dragon Knight, Nehalem!" Bahr disappeared into a red light and a giant armored dragon came out. A man wearing a blue outfit, holding a shield on one hand while holding his sword in another. "I call Berserk Dragon and behind him I also call Dragon Monk, Gojo!" Two other units appeared to the left of Nehalem. A two-headed fire breathing dragon appeared spouting fire all over and a lizard like human appeared in the back of the dragon. "I active Berserk Dragon's counterblast and retire your rear Gallatin," as he flipped two damage in his damage zone. The dragon spits out a stream of heat flames and it devoured Gallatin up making him disappear from the field. Izumi placed the card into her dropzone.

"I attack your vanguard with my Berserk boosted by Gojo!" he declared as he turned the cards to its side. "No guard," Izumi muttered. The dragon once again blasted a stream of blood red fire engulfing Gallatin from head to toe. Izumi winced at this and checked her damage: another Tristan.

"Then I attack with Nehalem to your vanguard. Drive check," he revealed Demonic Dragon Mage, Rakshasa. "Hm. A critical trigger that means I do two damage to you." Izumi gritted her teeth at this sudden turn of events and the others were worried.

Nehalem brought his sword up and lighting came from it, striking Gallatin straight on. Izumi did not show fear and reveal the two cards from her deck: Wingal and Sunlight Unicorn to the damage zone.

"I end my turn," he said.

Battle report

Boy: 2 damage Hand: 3

Izumi: 5 damage Hand:4

She stand her cards and drew her card. She looked to see Blaster Blade in her hand. She looked at her hand and decided to end this battle quickly.

"I ride Solitary Knight, Gancleot!" Gallatin disappeared into the blue aura, allowing him to rest for duration of the battle. A white pegasus came out with its proud wings spread. A silver armored knight was riding this beautiful steed, his face was stern but gentle. "I call Marron to the back of Tristain" Marron once again took his stance in the battlefield once. "I also call...Blaster Blade!" she placed the card to the left of Gancleot. A white armored knight appeared out from the left. His sharp green eyes survey the field and took his stance, ready for the battle. When it comes to battles, no must not lose their cool and show fear to your opponent.

The kids and her opponent were all amazed at her having Blaster Blade while Haru was confused. Hiro was just passively looking ahead with a blank expression.

"Wow! I didn't know Izumi had Blaster Blade before," Hana said.

"What's so great about him? Its just a card," Haru muttered out.

"Its not just a card. He is one of the rarest cards in the game," a young boy said to her. Haru tilted her head sideways with a blank expression.

"I active Blaster Blade's effect," she flipped two damage from her damage zone," I retire Berserk Dragon!" Blaster Blade raised his sword and crushed it down on the ground creating a ripple of blue lighting that creeped up to Berserk Dragon. The dragon howled before disappearing from the field. "I also call Sunlight Unicorn and use it's effect to add 2,000 power to Gancelot." A bright flow of power entered Gancelot making his attack power 11,000.

"I attack your vanguard with Tristan boosted by Marron!" Izumi shouted. Tristan drew his sword while Marron flowed his power to him.

"No guard," the boy said and damaged check a Nehalem to the damage zone as Tristan striked at Nehalem with his sword while balancing his harp in his other hand.

"I attack with my vanguard to your Nehalem," she turned Gancelot to the side and he prepared himself for flight.

The boy thought for a moment. _I can let this go and get myself a damage, but if she gets a critical then that would do me no good. On the other hand, I can block her attack and allow Blaster Blade to do one damage to me. That would leave me at 4 damage and she has one card in her hand currently so with Twin Drive that would leave her at three cards, making it harder for her to block my attacks. If she gets double triggers that could be a problem, but it wouldn't matter in this case since double triggers are almost impossible to happen._

"I guard with Rakshasa!" he shouted and laid said card onto the guardian circle. A demon like creature appeared in front of Nehalem. He quietly smirking at his opponent, but Gancleot paid no heed and ready his flight.

The boy smiled. _At least this way I can last for a bit longer._

Izumi frowned. "Twin Drive. First check," she said as she revealed Weapons Dealer, Govannon, "Draw trigger! I add 5,000 power to Gancelot and I draw a card." A light blue glow flowed into Gancelot and he ready his steed for fight.

_Hmmm she is planning to bet everything on Twin Drive. It will be a miracle if she is able to get another trigger.  
_

"Second check," she slowly revealed Bringer of Good Luck, Epona and she smiled, " I add all the effects to Gancelot!" as she placed the card into her hand.

Gancelot charged onto the battlefield, slashing Rakshasa with his sword. Rakshasa let out a cry before leaving the battlefield. He then charged at Nehalem and slashed at the dragon itself causing pain to it while almost throwing Nehalem off.

"Tck. Damage check," he revealed another Nehalem and Aremo to the damage zone.

"I attack with Blaster Blade boosted by Sunlight Unicorn attack your vanguard," she turned both cards to their sides. A flow of power entered Blaster Blade, taking a stance he lifted his sword up.

"I guard with Lizard Soldier, Ganlu!" dropping the card into the guardian circle. A bulky brown dragon appeared with a cannon his shoulder appeared in front of Nehalem. Blaster Blade lowered his sword down.

Battle report

Boy: 4 damage Hand: 1

Izumi: 5 damage Hand: 4

"Didn't think you would get a double trigger," the boy muttered out.

"When to comes to Vanguard, "luck" is a factor in this game. Sometimes it just happens," Izumi smiled at him.

The boy groaned at her. "I stand and draw!" He looked at his hand and field. There was only his Vanguard on his field and Izumi had almost a full field, he needed to do some damage before her turn.

"I ride Dragon Monk, Goku!" slamming the card on top of Nehalem. Nehalem and his dragon disappeared into a bright red light, out came a monkey with a stick. He was grinning madly. "I also ride Barh in front of Gojo." Another Barh came into the fight to revenge his brethren.

"I attack your Vanguard with Bahr boosted by Gojo," Bahr lifted his black rigged sword that glowed a bright orange up, ready to strike his enemy.

"I guard with Wingal and Govannon!" placing the two cards in the guardian circle. A blue winged ear dog appeared in front of Gancelot along with a ignore wearing a light blue and white armor. Bahr withdraw from the battle and they disappeared from the field.

"I attack with Goku boosted by Aremo!" turning the cards to their sides. Goku lifted up his stick and started to make his way across the field.

"I guard with Epona!" Izumi shouted. A young girl wearing a blue armor appeared on top of a giant golden mechanical beetle.

The boy laughed, "You know I only need a single trigger to break that guard?"

"So? I can get a heal trigger or you don't even get a trigger at all," Izumi chuckled out.

The boy glared at her. "Twin Drive!" he revealed his two cards which were Flame of Hope, Aermo and Demonic Dragon Madonna, Joka.

"Oh well, no triggers for you. I guess luck is not on your side," Izumi smiled.

"Whatever your turn," he huffed.

Battle report

Boy: 4 damage Hand: 3

Izumi: 5 damage Hand: 1

"I stand and draw," turning all her cards and drawing a card, "I attack with Tristan boosted by Marron to your vanguard." Tristain lifted his sword with the support of Marron's power, striked Goku straight on.

"Damage check," the boy revealed Berserk Dragon to the damage zone.

"I attack with Gancelot!" the unit took flight to strike the enemy down.

"I guard with Aermo and Joka!" the cards dropped into the guardian circle. A copy of an demon creature that is red in color with hair like flames along with a snake like creature with lots of decorated things on its body appeared to protect Goku.

"Twin Drive," she revealed another Bors and Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine. "Hmmm...a heal trigger. I heal one damage and add the power to Blaster Blade."

Gancelot struck down Aermo and Joka, but retreated due to him not having enough power to attack.

"I attack your vanguard with Blaster Blade boosted by Sunlight Unicorn," turning the cards onto their sides.

The boy, seeing nothing he can do, let the attack go. He revealed a Nehalem to the damage zone.

Blaster Blade lifted his sword and rushed at his foe, striking Goku down from his stance and with that the battle was over.

Battle report

Boy: 6 damage Hand: 1

Izumi: 4 damage Hand: 3

"Whew, that was an exciting battle. Haven't had one in awhile," she said with a smile. The boy looked in surprised. She walked over to the boy to shake his hand, the boy was confused at that action.

"I just want to shake hands with you to say that was a great fight," she told him with her hand out in front of her. The boy smiled and shook her hand in agreement.

"You can always come over to C&D card shop of Trades and Sells. You are always welcome there," she said to the kid as she walked over to her friends. The boy thought about it for a bit and smiled. It has been a while since he had any fun with the game.

"That was a cool match, Izumi! Can you teach me to be like you?" said Hana.

"I can help you, but I can't teach you everything. You have to learn on your own and don't always count on others to help you. One day you will find your calling," she said to Hana as she patted on her hand, messing it up a bit.

"We better go home, Izumi. It is getting late," Haru said to her friend as she balanced Hiro her shoulders.

"Alright. Be careful while walking home, alright?" she said to the kids. They nodded and waved good-bye to Izumi.

They were walking home, when Haru asked, "So when did you take up Cardfight? I known you since middle school, so don't try to lie to me."

Izumi looked at her friend, "I have always loved Cardfight, but things changed over the course of the year since it was released so I only play when I can."

"I guess school was the factor, huh?" Haru said as they walked down the street.

"You can say that. There isn't much of any fun these days, now its just tournaments and prizes that makes the game so popular."

"I thought that made the game more better, doesn't it? I mean you spend money making your decks and practicing everyday to perfected your playing why bother doing all that when you gain nothing?"

"I used to think that, but now players aren't playing for fun. Now its just fame and money for them," Izumi said as she rubbed Hiro's back to make sure he is comfortable in her arms.

"Hmmm...well whatever you say," Haru stopped and waved goodbye as she walked to the other direction to her home, "Just don't over think things, you always have that problem."

Izumi waved goodbye as she saw her friend go. _Yeah I'm probably over thinking things these days. Oh, I better start studying before the test on Tuesday!_

She started to run a little faster to her house while keeping Hiro steady in her arms. When she reached home, she shook Hiro awake so that it would be easier to remove his clothes. After removing their sweaters and shoes, she went to the living room with Hiro sleeping on her arms still.

"Man today was a weird day. I just hope nothing crazy happen next," she said. She lifted Hiro up and laid stretched out on the couch while placing Hiro on her body to nap on. She brought out her deck from her purse and stared at the cards for a bit.

"For a pretty crappy deck, it sure does well. Well then again, there is no such thing as a crappy deck, just a crappy player. I better try to find better cards for my deck," she chuckled silently. She placed the deck on the table and closed her eyes for a nap.

* * *

In her dream, she was back to that place once more again. This time, it seems to be at night. The sky was dark, say for some giant outlines of planets and clouds, it was a normal night sky. She started to wonder around a bit, seeing that if she was going to have this dream again, she might as well get used to the terrain. Walking around the field, she saw some everyday stuff like flowers, bugs and trees.

"This is place is like Earth, but different. Not much of a difference, just enough to say that it's not Earth. At least this place is relaxing," she whispered as she scrolled into the forest.

She stumbled upon a pond in the center of the forest. The pond was glowing a slightly blue tint with fireflies surrounding it. The trees were tall and a health green. The animals were quiet as she silently walked in from the bushes. It was such a pretty sight. Then she heard a noise from the bushes and retreated to hide behind a tree.

She saw a young tall man walked out from the opposite direction of the way she took. He has light beige colored hair and has bright crimson eyes, he was wearing a light white armor with what appears to be a blue undershirt. There was also a long slender sword with a decorated hilt which means that he is probably of important status. He sat down near the pond with his legs up and his arms on them. His face showed that something was bothering him for some reason though Izumi can't see much from her angle.

Something brushed against Izumi making her squeal in horror. The man jumped up from where he was sitting and his hand was on his sword.

"Who's there?" he asked while scanning his surrounding.

_Aww man what should I do? _Izumi thought as she panicked.

Fin~

* * *

**This was my longest chapter to date: over 9k words and that is even before the whole A/N up on top and this little note. **


	2. A start of something

**A/N: Thanks to those who review and favorite my story. **

**Anyways here is the second chapter. The first few chapters will have battles in them just so that I can introduce you readers to the OCs of this story. I am willing to accept OCs, but not right now. I'll tell you readers more details once I plan out the rest of the story. I will also be shorten out the names of the cards from time to time, because I'm sure most people already know their names. **

**Once again this is not Beta so there might be a few mistakes here and there, but I have checked this chapter for mistakes enough times to drive me crazy in the head. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cardfight! Vanguard. I only own the OCs and the plot.  
**

* * *

Izumi was having a fun time right now...not! First off, she was tired from the events today. Second, she woke up in a dream she had no clue what it's about. Third, now she is in trouble thanks to her own stupidity.

"I ask again: who's there?" the man said as he surveyed his surroundings.

Izumi breathe in a long sigh, she decided to reveal herself anyways. "Okay, I'll come out if you withdraw your sword and don't hurt me," she said from behind the tree.

The man looked up rather surprised at the voice and withdrew his hand from his sword. "I am sorry, my lady. I did not know that it was a maiden that had stumble here," he said kindly.

_He is pretty humble then again he must have come from a noble family or at the very least had teachings of being a proper man _she thought in her head. "Alright then, I'll come out. You promise that you will not hurt me, right?"

"Of course. On my knight's honor, I keep my humble promise. Now please come out," he said.

Izumi came out from behind the tree and the man looked really surprised. She don't know why, but she thought he was thinking that she was some sort of alien or something.

"Is something wrong?" Izumi asked the man.

"You aren't from around here, are you miss?" he asked her. _Well of course I am not from here, but I wouldn't want to admit out loud like that._

"Well let's just say I came from a faraway planet," Izumi said and that is the truth.

"Oh I see. You came from the Star Gate nation, right? Or are you a tourist there?" he asked.

"Huh?" she said to him. He looked confused at her.

"Well we do get a lot of visitors from around the world and they do come from the Star Gate nation though they are tend to be mostly robots..." he told her.

"Oh, well...y-yeah I'm a tourist from an p-place...very far away..." Izumi stuttered out. The man laugh a bit at her.

"I see. So did you got lost or something?" he asked as he motioned her to sit down next to him.

"You can say that. If you paid to come here, then you want the full tour and not just a standard one," she said as she sat down.

"You are one strange person."

"I can say that about you too, you know."

He laugh again at her. Izumi like it when people smile, it makes the mood more better.

"So what brings you here?" she asked the man. The young man looked up to her and smiled.

"Well, this is one of my favorite spots to sit and think. I just enjoy the surroundings and the quietness," he said.

"I see. I just walked myself in here," Izumi admittedly said, "I just want to see the whole place since I'll probably come here a lot."

"Oh really? Most tourists tend to leave after their first day," he said.

"Hey, I paid for my ride here. I should get a free tour of the planet," Izumi said even though she was dreaming and she didn't exactly paid for the trip, more like she was forced into it. She needed to find out why was this happening to her.

"True. Getting your money's worth is much better," he thought for a moment.

"I don't mean to intrude into your life or anything, but when I first saw you, you looked a little bothered. Is something wrong?" she asked him.

He looked up in surprised and smiled at her which made her blush a little. He was pretty cute, too bad he was just a dream.

"I don't want to cause you any trouble," he said to her.

"Oh, no. I'm okay with it. I tend to get into trouble a lot of times even though I wasn't the one who started it in the first place. Beside I don't want you to feel uncomfortable trusting a strange and all," she spitted out.

He once again laughed. Izumi sheepishly blushed in embarrassment. After a bit, he stopped and his eyes started to reflect his troubles though he was still smiling.

"Well, its not that I trust strangers...I have trouble with my friends. I don't think they understand my thoughts anymore," he silently said.

Izumi perked up at hearing this. Friends are often an important factor in one's life. You can't live life if you didn't have any friends. She has Haru for that and Haru always keep her on her toe a lot. Remembering her, she smiled at the memories of their friendship and how it grew.

"I can understand what you mean," she said, "Friends are friends, but when it comes to trusting them its hard to find which ones matter and which one doesn't."

"I don't hate them or anything, just that I don't think they are going to treat me the same way as before. I mean I used to think that we were equals, now it became more like they want to treat me as who _I _really am," he sadly whispered.

"As a noble, right?"

"How you guess?"

Izumi pointed to the sword, "The hilt is of a different design and is more detailed. If it was an simple sword, then it is mostly carried by regular soldiers. If it was decorated and had gold encrusted then more or often they tend to belong to nobles," she said to him. Needless to say he was speechless.

"You are correct, but this is not my real sword. This sword is mainly for practicing my swordsmanship. I am a noble, but I wouldn't say I enjoy being a noble. I joined the army since my aunt wanted me to as my brothers and sisters are doing something more productive of their lives," he said to her.

"I see. Your aunt is just trying to help you," she said, "Besides if you speak up to your friends, I'm sure they will understand."

"You really think so?"

"Of course, you need to speak up once in awhile. Can't have everyone decide your life, you know. Take control of your life and you'll see that it isn't that bad."

He thought for a moment and nodded, "Alright then, I'll try that. Thank you, miss."

"Oh, right where were my matters. My name is Aika," she said as she reached out her hand. _Wait a sec...that's not my name!_

He extended his hand as well, "My name is Arthur..."

* * *

Izumi jolted awake from her nap. Hiro was still sleeping quietly on her body and it was barely been 30 minutes since she started her nap. She shook her head awake.

"Man, what a dream. At least, I think its a dream. Then why did I my name was Aika?" her hands were shaking a bit, but she stopped it when she clenched her hands into fists.

"Whatever, I might feel better when I eat something. Might as well make some sandwiches," she said. Gently as can be, she removed Hiro from her body and placed him on the couch while she ventured to the kitchen. Opening the cabinets to see what she can use for a snack, she noticed the picture of her mother near the dining room table. She stared at it for a moment and memories flowed back.

* * *

"_Mommy, what are you doing?" a young Izumi asked._

_Her mother looked up from her book. Her long brown hair sway in the air and her ruby eyes shone brightly at her. Like how Hiro looks like their dad, Izumi looked like their mother although she is much more mature looking than her. She was wearing a light red sunday dress and a necklace hung on her neck. Her smile can brighten anyone. She lifted Izumi up from where she was staying and started to hug her._

"_I only wished you didn't have to go through what I had to," she very softly said._

_Izumi didn't understand at all, but hugged her mother back._

* * *

Izumi shook her head awake and picked up the picture. "If I keep doing this to myself, I wouldn't be helping anyone. Sorry mom, I really am not a great daughter since I keep wanting to forget you." Tears started to fall down from her eyes, she had not cried for such a long time ever since her mother's death now she wondered if she'd been strong or just been pathetic.

Wiping her tears away and putting the picture back, she started to make the sandwiches. After putting them together, she cut them into triangles, because she wanted to. Bringing the sandwiches on a plate, she wandered back to the living room. Placing the plate on the table, she gently shook her brother awake. Hiro yawned awake from his nap, rubbing his eyes to get rid of his sleepiness and reaching for one of the sandwiches from the table.

Izumi chuckled and grabbed the remote to turn on the TV. Maybe there was something to watch these days other than the replays of old Vanguard tournaments. The TV spark to life and Izumi started to flip around the channels. She stopped when she saw something on the channel.

"Today we have a special announcement. Today the president of Regintine company has set up an event for Cardfighters around the world. Here is the message," the reporter said as he motioned to a different screen.

A video started to play. A man appeared, but his face was hidden in the dark and his voice was really hard to hear though it was clear enough for some to understand. "I would like to say that I am holding an event in regards to my company joining into the Vanguard business," the man started.

"Another company trying to earn some fame, huh? Something that is too common now," Izumi muttered as she took a bite of her sandwich.

The man continued on to say that he has sent a player from his company team to journey to Japan to test players in Vanguard and lastly before he left, "If you manage to defeat my player, then you will receive a very special prize in the end. Happy fighting players as my player is known as one of the best." The video ended on that note. Then the channel went back to its regularly programs.

Izumi sighed. "Oh well. I don't think this "player" will ever come to C&D Card shop of Trade and Sells unless he knows where it is."

Hiro looked up. "Did you wanted to fight the player, onee-san?"

"Not in the slightest. If that player is just in it for the fame, I rather die then fight him."

"Why? I thought that it would be good to fight other experienced players?"

"Not the ones who are doing for the fame. They tend to lose sight of why they are playing the game in the first place. All they ever care about is money and winning. Besides since when was Vanguard all about winning these days?"

Hiro was confused at what his sister was saying, "Cardfight is confusing."

"Well its meant to challenge your brain a little," she patted Hiro on the head, "I'm sure you will get it someday." He didn't seem all too keen on it. Finishing their snack, they went to their rooms to finish up some homework.

Izumi stretched her arms out, after this day, an early sleep would do her some good. Going to the restroom to change her clothes and wash away the stress. Drying her hair out, she went to check on her deck. Laying them out for her to see if she can figure out what cards she need. She knew what the boy said to her today about needing strong cards was true, but she was not willing to abandon her cards just for the sake of being powerful. They hold a lot more meaning to her, but she doesn't want to seem weak to the other players especially the ones in her card shop. She closed her eyes and frowned, what was she going to do? Seeing that there was nothing to do, she went to take another nap. Maybe this time, she could dream about something else.

* * *

Somewhere in a hidden location...

A man was busy making his dinner which was just a cup of ramen inside his rundown shack. The man was wearing a white shirt and worn down pants, but he seems to enjoy his life style. He was busy with making his dinner that he didn't noticed a voice calling out to him. It was only when he was finished making his dinner that he finally noticed it.

"Oh, sorry. I was busy with the ramen. Its a very delicate process and if you don't pay attention, it can get ruined. Anyways what's wrong?" he said to the voice.

"_**Everyone is being restless. Something big is going to happen**__," _the voice said.

"I see. Don't worry when the time comes, I will have everyone here. It will get better," he said softly to the voice.

"_**What if they don't want to? Like last time, you and her were the only ones who stayed**__," _the voice said.

"I know. I didn't do much since she did most of the job herself. I kinda feel pathetic, because of that. I just wished she was still here," he whispered.

The voice stopped talking for a bit. It knew the friendship, he and she created over the years though now she is gone along with the others leaving him the only one left.

"Don't worry. This time, it will be much different. I promise," he smiled to the voice. The voice sadly looked at the man, it hated to make others sad.

* * *

Meanwhile at some location...

The president of Regintine company was enjoying a glass of wine at his desk. His chubby body and face makes it hard to be serious with him, but his company is top notch for making toasters, microwaves, radios and other household things. When Cardfight! Vanguard came, he didn't think much of it until he saw how much it can bring up sales and fame when you sponsor a tournament. Not one to miss it, he ended recruiting a bunch of players to help with the sponsor thing.

A knock came from outside his room. "Come in," he said. The door opened to reveal a young man dressed in a white shirt with a black coat over it along with black pants and sneakers appeared. Sporting brown messy hair and his emerald eyes made him normal as can be. He was wearing a pair of black rimmed glasses and has a frown on his face. The man couldn't be older than 17 years old.

"You need to see me?" he said. The president looked up at him.

"I need you to go around and look for random card shops to fight in," he said to him. The man looked up in surprised.

"Why should I? I joined, because you were going to sponsor my team for the upcoming tournament?"

"What team? You haven't even started to make a team, much less even try. I'm starting to doubt it," the chubby man said.

"I just can't randomly ask players to join in my team. That's like asking a zebra to join a lion or a bug to a spider. I only want players who are serious in the game and wants to have fun as well. I don't care if we win or not, I just care we make it to the finals. I've just been having bad luck that's all," the young man said.

"Whatever, do what you want. You better have a team ready anyways if you want any sponsor at all. Anyways I made an announcement that I would be sending a player of mine to go around Japan fighting in random card shops. Consider it a practice for the tournament, don't want to fall behind right?"

"I guess that is true. Alright then I will do that," he said. _Maybe this way, I can find members for my team. Better yet, maybe a new sponsor._

"Good," the man snapped his fingers and an assistant appeared with a briefcase, "In that briefcase is a card."

He looked opened the case. Looking at the card, the young man frowned. "Its just a King of Knight, Alfred card. This is your prize?" he asked, "I know he is one of the key cards in any Royal Paladin deck, but you can get him at a price you know? Why not offer something like a radio or something your company makes?"

"A business is a business. I don't have any use for any cards of this silly game. I got it from a random player on the street," the president said, "The player said something about it being special, but I don't think so. I need you to get rid of it."

"So you want me to lose?" the young man raised his eyebrow at that.

"No, of course not. Win some of the battles and at the end, lose. There no problem at all," he laughed out.

"That's a little weird to say the least."

"Cards are only worth it if they are of any value. Cards like him are not of any. I would have tore him up, but I figure that someone can get rid of it while giving my company a little fame."

The young man was not surprised at what the president said to him. Some players are willing to give their cards away like candy to others or even throw them away if they deem them worthless. He wondered if there was any players left that still loves the cards for what they are.

"Alright then, I'm off. I'll get back to you soon," he said to the president as he walked away. He closed the door as he walked out into the hallway. He started to remember the day he got his deck.

* * *

"_Hey want to play this new game called Cardfight! Vanguard?" a kid asked him. He looks to be a 7 years old. His brown eyes sparkled with delight while talking to another kid who was reading his book._

"_What is that?" he asked looking up from his book. Back then, he was a total bookworm and nothing else, but studying was on his list. Friends were never his priority as they would distract him from his studies._

"_Its a new game that is out right now and its gaining speed. You should try it," the kid would say._

"_Why? I rather study than play a card game," he would tell the kid._

"_Man, you are a stick in the mud. Well give it a try, here's a deck for you. I have another and I don't need this one," the kid handed him a deck._

"_Like I said I don't want it," he told the kid._

"_Hmm...about this. If I lose, you get this deck. If I win, I won't bother you on the subject anymore. Deal?" he said as he reached for a handshake._

"_If it means that you leave me alone then fine," he said._

_After a bit, he won even though this was the first time he ever won anything other than certificates. "Man, I lost. I can't believe it," the kid said._

_He looked at the field and the cards, it seems to be rather fun and it does involve planning and strategy._

"_Oh, well. A deal is a deal. You can keep that deck," the kid said as he ran off with his other deck, "Just take care of it, okay? See you tomorrow!"_

_He watched the other kid go. He figured he could try this game out._

"_Maybe we could fight again. By that time, I would fight at my all. I guess this game isn't so bad," he muttered to himself while looking at the deck, no... now it's his deck. He smiled softly at it._

* * *

He stopped for a bit and looked down at the floor. The game sure took a wrong turn for the worse. Sighing he went outside to take a breather. It was starting to get dark as the sun settled. The sky was a mixture of orange and blue, the clouds were steady as they flow away and the stars are making themselves known. The air was sweet and gentle tonight. Lampposts are starting to lit up and people were waving goodbye to each other.

"Isamu Kiroan, what have you gotten yourself into?" he scratched his messy brown hair. Isamu looked around and started to walk down the street with his hands in his stopped by a nearby park. Taking a seat on a bench, he started to reflect on what happened today.

_There isn't much I can do as one person, I still need a team to enter a tournament. Where am I going to find players? _He thought in his head. Reaching for the briefcase, he opened it up to see what he can do with the card itself.

"I don't want to give him to some player. I can't do that," he said as he picked it up. Suddenly a bright flash came from the card and he shielded his eyes in surprised.

When he opened them again, he noticed that he was in a battlefield. There was several units fighting among each other. The Dimensional Police was fighting against some Nova Grapplers while also fighting several Megacolony units. They were destroying each other to pieces. Some were even not moving when they hit the ground. The battlefield became a battle to the death and none of them wanted to stop. When he tried to step in between them to stop the fighting, he fell down into a dark tunnel.

After feeling that he fell forever, he opened his eyes. He was met with bright square objects flowing freely around him. When he blinked again, the squares turned to Cardfight! Vanguard cards. They were flowing up from the ground and he was honestly scared at what is happening. He didn't understand what was going on.

"_**Don't be afraid**_," a voice called out to him.

Isamu was looking around for the voice who called out to him. "Who are you?"

"_**Time will come when you will know who I am**_," the voice said, "_**For now, you must gather the others before it's too late**_."

"What do you mean by that?" Isamu asked, but he didn't receive an answer.

He opened his eyes once more again and he was back at the park. He rubbed his head to shake it awake. "What was that? I guess you are a special card. Too bad, I don't run a Royal Paladin deck. Maybe I can find you a good home," he said to the card as he placed it back inside the briefcase. For a second, it appeared as if Alfred was actually smiling from inside the card.

* * *

Izumi woke up from her sleep. Yesterday was such a hassle. She got up to go the restroom to brush up as school starts again today. Dressed in her usual outfit, she grabbed her bag to head downstairs. Before she walked out, she looked back at her desk. She reached for her deck box and decided to bring it along for work. She walked to the dining room to greet her dad and Hiro. After eating their breakfast, Hiro and Izumi walked to school.

At school, it was all too familiar of a normal day. Students talking about what they wanted to do during the next week since they don't have school for four days, so it was popular subject right now. Izumi was changing her shoes when Haru came from behind her.

"Hey, Izumi! Have any plans for the days off from school next week?" she asked as she started to change her shoes.

"Not really. I plan to work all those days and study for upcoming exams. I haven't really thought about having fun plans and such," she said to her.

"That's it! You need to escape from this place. How about going to my parent's beach house? Its almost summer so might as well the beach," she said to Izumi.

"I don't really know about that."

"You can bring Hiro and your dad. I'm sure your boss won't mind you taking a few days off."

"I'll see what I can do," she walked away while Haru scramble to take off her shoes. The room was bustling with life. She went to her seat near the window. Kyousuke walked in with his eyes closed and walked over to his seat. He wasn't carrying anything other than a pencil in his ear. The bell rang and students went to their seats. The teacher stepped in and started the roll call after that the teacher started his lesson. Izumi and the other students started to jolt down the notes.

Lunch break came and students ran to grab their lunches with their friends. Izumi and Haru often eat together in their homeroom since they both didn't like moving around a lot.

"You sure you don't want to go to my parent's beach house? Come on, its going to be fun. Its just for a couple of days," Haru said as she munched on a small riceball.

"Like I said I'll think about it," she replied as she took a bite from her lunch.

Haru looked a little sad at that respond. She remembered how much happy and cheerful, Izumi was back before that day. She just wished she didn't change that much, but time is sometimes unforgivable at times. Haru sneaked a peek at Kyousuke the student and noticed that he was asleep.

"That guy can sure sleep," she muttered, "I wonder what he does at nights? Oh yeah, I remembered you saying that you work at a card shop , right?"

"Yeah, so what about it?"

"Give me directions to it. I want to go there so that we can talk some more."

"You really want to be surrounded by kids?"

"Hey, still better than being at home watching TV plus my mother wants me to get a job."

"You have to know about Cardfight in order to work there, you know?" Izumi laughed at her.

"Well its easy enough to catch on. I think I can manage," she smiled. It was nice to see Izumi smiling once in awhile.

When lunch was over, classes resume. The clock slowly ticked to 3 o'clock and the students packed their bags to go home. Izumi waved goodbye to Haru and was getting ready to leave, but saw Kyousuke sleeping again. Sighing she decided to wake him up.

"Hey, its time to go home. You awake?" she said to him as he slowly woke up. He yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"Oh, really? I didn't noticed," he said tiredly.

Izumi sighed. She reached into her bag to bring out a bun wrapped in a napkin. "Here eat this. You slept through lunch again," she said as she handed the bun to him. At first, he looked at her funny though he ended up taking it in the end.

"Why are you giving other people food?" he said.

"I don't know. I guess that's how I am," she said as she walked out the room.

Kyousuke watched her go. "Strange girl," he said as he took a bite out of the bun.

* * *

Isamu was having the time of his life. Well if you call fighting battle after battle, a good time then yeah, its a good time. He had to stop at a bench and to take a breather, exhausted to the point where he might just collapsed randomly around.

"This is so tiring. I have fought almost 25 card shops from this area. I still haven't found anyone that is worthy of this card. Man, I need to find one quick. Still where is another card shop around here?" he said as he got up from the bench. After a bit, he stumbled upon C&D Card shop of Trades and Sells.

"A little worn down, but still alive. Hmmm...I wonder?" he opened the door to see some kids battling against each other and Izumi reading a book. The kids look up from their battles to see who was the visitor.

One of them approached him. "Are you the player that Regintine company sent?" asked a young boy.

"Yes, I am. I'm here to face your toughest player to see if he could defeat me," he said to the little boy with a smile.

"Well, Izumi onee-chan is our toughest player. She is pretty strong," the boy said to Isamu as he pointed to Izumi from the counter. She looked up from her book as she heard that.

"I wouldn't say that I am the toughest player here," she said to Isamu.

He chuckled a bit. "Well since I'm here and all why don't we battle?"

She thought for a bit and agreed. She stepped away from the counter for a bit while Hiro was left in charge of the counter.

They set up the table and field. The other kids stood around watching the match unfold.

"Stand up, Vanguard!" both shouted out.

"Stardust Trumpeter!"

"Hades Ringmaster!"

On the battlefield are two different units. On one side is an young girl with her red hair tied into two buns and a trump in her hand. The other side showed a purple demon wearing a suit with a creepy smile on his face.

"Pale Moon, huh? Never played against them before," Izumi chirped in.

"Well, I'll for sure show you a good show. After all the Pale Moon circus lives up to it's name," he smiled.

"Alright then. I hope for a grand show," she said as she drew her card. "I ride Little Sage, Marron." A bright blue glow surrounded the young girl and out came a young boy giant as he adjust his book on his arms.

"I end my turn," she said.

"I draw," Isamu added the card to his hand, "I ride Dark Metal Bicorn!" A bright purple glow surround the demon, now in its place is a goat like creature with an orange mane that is coated in black armor appeared. "I active Hades Ringmaster's skill and soul charge one," he said as he slide Jumping Glen into the soul.

"I attack with Dark Metal Bicorn to your vanguard!" he turned the card to it's side. The creature prepared itself as it charged at Marron at top speed. "Drive check," he revealed a Skull Juggler and placed it in his hand. Marron received a blow to his body as the creature slammed into him.

"Damage check," Izumi revealed a Knight of the Harp, Tristin to the damage zone.

Battle report

Isamu: 0 damage Hand: 5

Izumi: 1 damage Hand: 5

"I draw," she said, "I ride Knight of the Harp, Tristin!" Marron was replaced with a young man wearing a light colored armor. He was holding his harp on one hand while his sword is on the other side. "I call Knight of Silence, Gallatin to the left and Marron to the right!" Gallatin and Marron appeared in roll call.

"I attack Bicorn with Marron," she said.

"No guard," Isamu said as he revealed Midnight Bunny to the damage zone. Marron chanted a spell from his book and launched a spark of blue lighting to the creature causing it pain.

"I attack with Tristan to your vanguard," she said as she turned the card to it's side.

"No guard," he said.

"Drive check," she revealed Blaster Blade and place it in her hand. Tristan slashed the creature with his sword making a large scratch appear on it.

He revealed Jumping Jill to the damage zone. Isamu was pretty amazed that Izumi has that card.

_Maybe she will make an good owner to Alfred, but I have to test her though _he thought as she prepared her final attack.

"Finally I attack with Gallatin," she said.

"No guard," he placed Skull Juggler to the damage zone.

"I end my turn," she said.

Battle report

Isamu: 3 damage Hand: 5

Izumi: 1 damage Hand: 4

"I stand and draw," Isamu said, "I ride Barking Cerberus!" The goat like creature disappeared, replaced by a three head beast with party hats on your of their heads. They were all panting heavily.

"I call Midnight Bunny to the back of Cerberus and Dark Metal Bicorn at the left!" A pink bunny like human popped out. Her face was decorated with face paint and her bunny paws wave at the audience while another Bicorn stood in silent.

"I attack with Bicorn to your vanguard," he said as he turned the card to its side.

"No guard," she said and revealed Gallatin to the damage zone.

"I attack your vanguard with Cerberus boosted by Midnight Bunny," he said. The beast growled at the foe before him as he charged ahead.

"No guard," Izumi said as she looked on.

"Drive check," he said as Nightmare Doll, Alice appeared. He smiled at his luck while Izumi placed Wingal to the damage zone.

"I activate Midnight Bunny's skill by counter blasting one, I can put her into the soul and call out another card as long as it's not named "Midnight Bunny". I call Jumping Glen to the right. Glen's skill comes into effect, she gains 3k attack when she is called from the soul. I attack your vanguard once more with Glen."

"I guard with Starlight Unicorn," she dropped the card to guardian circle. Glen stopped her attack when a unicorn armed with a light armor appeared in front of her.

"I end my turn," he said.

Battle report

Isamu: 3 damage Hand: 4

Izumi: 3 damage Hand: 3

"I stand and draw," she said, "I ride Knight of Convictions, Bors!" Tristan left the battlefield. Now in his place was a young man with glasses and a book in his hand. He was dressed in white clothes and his sword was ready at his side. "I move Marron to the back and call Blaster Blade!" Marron moved back to allow his peer to step in. Blaster Blade looked on ahead towards the battlefield with his sword in hand.

"I activate Blaster Blade's skill and retire Jumping Glen," she said as she flipped two damage. Blaster Blade slammed his sword into the ground causing a ripple of blue lighting to strike at Glen. She left the battlefield as Isamu placed her into the drop zone.

"I attack your vanguard with Gallatin!" as she turned the card. Gallatin prepared for his attack.

"I guard with Rainbow Magician," he placed the card onto the guardian circle. A elf dressed in white appeared with a hat in front of him, throwing a storm of cards at Gallatin making him stop and retreated back.

"I attack with Blaster Blade boosted by Marron to your vanguard," she said. Marron flowed his power into Blaster Blade and he charged at the enemy.

"No guard," Isamu said. He revealed Purple Trapezist to the damage zone.

"I attack with Bors. I activate his skill by counter blasting one, I can increase his attack power by 3k," she said as she flipped her third damage. Bors took his stance and launched himself to the enemy.

"No guard," Isamu said as he smiled at the fun he was having.

She smiled as well. "Twin Drive!" she said as she revealed Wingal and Crimson Butterfly, Brigitte. Bors struck his foe with a sharp smack.

"Damage check," Isamu placed Mirror Demon to the damage zone.

Battle report

Isamu: 5 damage Hand: 3

Izumi: 3 damage Hand: 4

"I stand and draw," he said, "As the circus draws at its end, it must end on a grand note. I ride Dark Illusionist, Robert!" The beast let out a howl and disappeared into the purple light. A elf dressed in colorful clothes with a top hat and a wand appeared to the stage bowing to the audience with a smile. "I activate Robert's skill. I soul charge one then I can check the top card of my deck and decided to either place it on the top or bottom of my deck." He slided Midnight Bunny into the soul then he checked the top card and left it on the top.

"I call Nightmare Doll, Alice to the left while moving Bicorn to the back and Fire Breeze, Carrie to the right." A giant female doll appeared onto the stage, her face emotionless as she stared forward. Another elf appeared, this time the elf was dressed in a clown outfit while also breathing fire out from her mouth.

"I attack Gallatin with Alice boosted by Bicorn," he turn the cards to their sides. Alice started to move her hand toward Gallatin.

Izumi thought for a moment. _I can guard the attack with only one 10k shield and two other cards to defend, I can't afford the cost. _"No guard," she said. Alice crushed Gallatin with her hand and Izumi placed the card onto the drop zone.

"I activate Alice's skill, by counter blasting one I can move her into the soul and call another Pale Moon unit to the field as long it's not named "Nightmare Doll, Alice". I call Barking Cerberus from the soul," he said. Alice disappeared from the field and out came the three headed beast out for some fun.

"I attack with Robert!" he said. Robert grabbed his top hat from his head and started to chant a spell.

"I guard with Flogal," Izumi said as she placed the card onto the guardian circle. A pink dog appeared in front of Bors, protecting him.

"Twin Drive," he said. He revealed a Dancing Princess of the Night Sky and added to his hand. Then he revealed Cracker Musician, "Stand trigger! I add the power to Carrie and I stand Bicorn!" Carrie received a boost of power while Bicorn stand once again. Izumi groaned and looked at her hand, she can't guard the next two attacks as she doesn't want to reduce her cards from her hand.

"I attack your vanguard with Carrie!" he said. Carrie breathed in some air to her lungs.

"No guard," Izumi said. Carrie let a blast of hot flames towards Bors and the flames consumed him. She revealed Solitary Knight, Gancelot to the damage zone.

"I attack with Barking Cerberus with a boost from Bicorn to your vanguard," he turned the cards to their sides. The beast charged at Bors.

"No guard," she said as she revealed Weapons Dealer, Govannon. "Draw trigger! I add the power to Bors and I draw a card."

"I aciatice Carrie's skill by counter blasting two I can draw one card," flipping two damage from his damage zone, he drew a card. "I end my turn.

Battle report

Isamu: 5 damage Hand: 4

Izumi: 5 damage Hand: 4

"I stand and draw," Izumi said, "I call Crimson Butterfly, Brigitte to the left!" A man armored in white with wings of the flaming crimson butterfly appeared with his sword in hand.

"I attack Carrie with Brigitte," turning the card to it's side. Brigitte leapt up and took flight at Carrie.

"No guard," he said. _She is trying to get rid of my intercepts while also getting rid of my card advantage. A good idea to do since her hand is rather small._

Brigitte slashed Carrie across her body and she disappeared from the field. He then retreated back.

"I attack your vanguard with Bors! I counterblast to add 3k to his power," she said as she flipped the damage. Bors took his sword in hand and took charge.

"No guard," he said which surprised Izumi and the other kids. Izumi revealed Starlight Unicorn and Marron then add them both to her hand.

"Damage check," he said as he slowly revealed Candy Clown which surprised Izumi, "Huh? What you know, I guess no one wants the circus to stop just yet. Heal trigger! I heal one damage and add the power to Robert!"

Bors slammed his sword into Robert and retreated back to his postion on the field. The power from the trigger boosted Robert back to his feet.

"I attack your vanguard with Blaster Blade boosted by Marron," turning the cards to their rest positions. Marron flowed his power to Blaster Blade while he prepared for the attack.

"I guard with Cracker Musician," he placed the card in the guardian circle. A young boy with a party hat appeared in front of Robert. He cracked a popper that sprayed colorful streamers at Blaster Blade who is none too happy about it.

"I end my turn," Izumi said. If she can survive this next turn, she can maybe win.

Battle report

Isamu: 4 damage Hand: 3

Izumi: 5 damage Hand: 6

"I stand and draw," he turned all the cards to their stand position, "I use Robert's skill. I soulcharge one and check my top card." He slides Dark Illusionist, Robert to the soul and checked his top card, leaving it at the top.

"I call Dancing Princess of the Night Sky to the spot where Carrie was," he placed the card down. A young girl with face paint and yellow ponytails appeared onto the field. "I use her skill by counter blasting one, I can soul charge a Grade 2 or lower Pale Moon unit to the soul." He flipped one damage and slide Jumping Jill to the soul. "I call Midnight Bunny to the back of Robert."

"I attack with Cerberus boosted by Bicorn to your vanguard," he turned the cards to the side. The beast once again charged at Bors.

"I guard with Wingal and Starlight Unicorn," the cards dropped into the guardian circle. Wingal and Starlight took their place in front of Bors to stop the rampaging beast.

"I attack with Robert boosted by Midnight Bunny to your vanguard," he turned the cards to their sides. Midnight Bunny waved a good luck to Robert as he started to do a magic trick.

Izumi looked at her hand, she can guard with the cards in her hand or try her luck at the Damage Check. Guarding with the cards in her hand will reduce her field advantage while also have no cards to defend with. She had to let it go.

"No guard," she said to Isamu. He smiled at her determination.

"Twin Drive," he revealed Purple Trapezist and Mirror Demon while adding them to his hand.

Robert launched his magic trick to Bors causing an explosion to happen. Izumi revealed Gallatin to the damage zone.

Battle report

Isamu: 4 damage Hand: 5

Izumi: 6 damage Hand: 4

The kids were surprised that Izumi lost, but they didn't mind it. Izumi looked up in surprised at them and the kids start to hug her to cheer her up.

"Wow, this has been one of the best matches I had in awhile! Thanks for the match," Isamu said as he extended his hand at Izumi. She shook his hand to say that it was good match.

"By the way, my name is Isamu Kiroan. Just so you know," he said to Izumi.

"My name is Izumi Hisa," she said casually to him. She was walking back to her place at the counter.

He thought for a moment and reached into the briefcase for the card. "Hey, although I did win, I want you to have the prize. I don't want to go around promoting this event anymore," he said to her.

She looked at the card. King of Knights, Alfred would be a great addition to her deck, but she didn't like being handed a card that she didn't win. She passed it back to him. "Sorry, I can't accept a prize from someone that I didn't win against in a match. Thank you for the thought though," she said to him.

Isamu sighed. "I guess I have to look for another player, huh. Man, this is so tiring. Where am I going to find another player?"

"I'll fight you," a voice said from the front of the counter. They turned to see a young man looking at them.

"Kyousuke? What are you doing here?" Izumi said.

"I just stumbled upon here and thought I might as well check this place out," he said to her, "Never thought I would see you here."

"Sorry I'm only allowed to play against regulars of the card shops," Isamu said.

"How about a paying customer?" he said to Isamu.

"Well I guess that can work. He never said anything about paying customers," Isamu said as he thought about it.

"Hey, I want to buy this booster pack. How much is it?" Kyousuke said to Hiro as he pointed to the pack.

"350 yen," Hiro said to Kyousuke. He reached in his pockets and counted out the money, giving them to Hiro once he finished.

"There I brought something from here. Now I ask for a match," he said as he handed the pack he brought to a random kid.

"Alright then," Isamu said, "Let's do it."

TBC~


	3. A team?

**A/N: Thanks to those who took time to read this fanfic, it makes me happy to know some are willing to read this fanfic. **

**Anyways I will post a chapter in where I will put the format for adding your own OCs in my story. The next two chapters will be about my OCs and a bit a plot so there will be no matches in them. **

**I'm sorry if people are finding this story hard too read, I'll probably change it in case though for now I'll leave it the way. There might be a few mistakes here and there, but it should be fine. I will post a chapter that describes all my OCs, if you guys want.  
**

**Yes, I will be putting units in this story, but I'll base them off of their lores with a touch to their personality to make them a bit more like humans in a sense.**

**This chapter was a pain to write since it had two matches in it. I hope you like this chapter. There was a little problem when I upload this chapter in this site. The " " all disappeared so I had to redo this chapter, so I hope I didn't miss any.  
**

* * *

Isamu and Kyousuke set up the table for their cardfight. Izumi told Hiro to go watch the match while she remains at the counter. She hugged him and watch him hop towards the battle. Walking to the counter, she sat down on the chair and started to read her book again while hearing the battle unfold.

"Stand up, Vanguard!"

"Hades Ringmaster!"

"Lizard Soldier, Conroe!"

Two units appeared on the battlefield of Cray. A creepy smiling purple demon wearing a suit appeared while on the the other side is a green lizard wearing a light armor with a flaming sword and a small shield in hand.

"Since I asked you to fight me, you make the first time. I favor a disadvantage at times," Kyousuke said.

"Alright then! Whatever you say, Isamu said as he draw his card, I ride Dark Metal Bicorn!" The purple demon disappeared leaving a goat like creature with a orange mane to take his place. "Hades Ringmaster's skill activates when another Pale Moon rides this card, I'm allow to soul charge one," he slided Midnight Bunny to the soul, "I end my turn."

"I draw," Kyousuke grabbed a card from his hand, "I ride Embodiment of Armor, Bahr!" A demon in red armor with a red rimmed sword appeared onto the field. "Conroe's skill activates. When another Kagero unit rides this card, I can move it to the rearguard." He moved Conroe to the back of Bahr. "I call another Bahr to the field at the top right and I attack with it to your vanguard."

"No guard," Isamu placed Fire Breeze, Carrie to the damage zone.

"I attack your vanguard with Bahr boosted by Conroe," he turned the cards to their rest positions.

"No guard," Isamu said.

"Drive Check," Kyousuke revealed Blazing Flare Dragon and added to his hand. Isamu placed Jumping Jill to the damage zone. Bicorn received a burning scar from Bahr's attack. I end my turn.

Battle report

Isamu: 2 damage Hand: 5

Kyousuke: 0 damage Hand: 5

"I draw," Isamu said, "I ride Barking Cerberus!" The goat creature disappeared into a cloud of smoke, leaving behind a three headed beast with party hats on each of their heads. "I also call Mirror Demon to the left." A standing mirror appeared onto the field, inside the mirror was a demon dressed in a clown costume, grinning and waving to the crowd.

"I attack your rearguard Bahr with Mirror Demon," turning the card to it's side. The demon grinned and retreated to his mirror.

"No guard," Kyousuke said. The demon then shot out from his mirror and crushed into Bahr. Bahr let out a growl before leaving the field. Kyousuke placed the card into the drop zone.

"I activate Mirror Demon's skill when its attack hits, I can counter blast one," Isamu flipped one damage, "Then I can put this card into the soul and call out another Pale Moon unit that is not named "Mirror Demon" to the field. I call out Midnight Bunny to the rear back of the left." The demon left the stage with a bow and a pink bunny human appeared to the back of the performer that disappeared. She waved to the crowd with a wink and a smile on her face.

"I attack your vanguard with Barking Cerberus," he turned the card to its rest position.

"No guard," Kyousuke calmly spoke.

"Drive Check," Isamu revealed Dynamite Juggler, "Critical trigger! I add all the effects to Cerberus." Cerberus charged at Bahr and slammed straight at him.

Kyousuke placed Heatnail Salamander to the damage zone. Then revealed Gattling Claw Dragon to the damage zone. "Draw trigger. I add the power to Bahr and draw a card." Adding the card to his hand.

"I end my turn," Isamu smiled.

Battle report

Isamu: 2 damage Hand: 5

Kyousuke: 3 damage Hand: 6

"I stand and draw," Kyousuke said, "I ride Dragon Knight, Nehalem!" Bahr vanished into a bright red light and bursting from the red was a blue suited knight with a sword and shield in hand while standing on top of his trusted armor dragon. "I call Chain-attack Sutherland to the right and Follower, Reas to the back of him." A young man with machine guns appeared on top of a small dragon and to the back of him is a small girl dressed in a red dress with light red hair appeared onto the field.

"I attack your vanguard with Sutherland boosted by Reas. Reas's skill activates. When she boosts a card named, Chain-attack Sutherland , the unit gains an extra 4k to his power until the end of battle," he turned the cards to their sides. Reas boosted Sutherland though she had a frown on her face while he was all too happy for action.

"No guard," Isamu placed Skull Juggler to the damage zone while Sutherland unleashed a barrage of rapid fire at the beast. When he returned to his position, Reas was shaking her head at him.

"I attack your vanguard with Nehalem boosted by Conroe," turning the cards to their rest positions. Conroe flowed his power to Nehalem while got ready for the attack.

"No guard," Isamu said.

"Drive check," Kyousuke slowly Dragon Dancer, Lourdes and placed it in his hand. Nehalem striked Cerberus with a resounding blue lighting from his sword.

Rainbow Magician flew to the damage zone while emitting a red glow. "Draw trigger! I add the power to Cerberus and I draw a card."

"I end my turn," Kyousuke said.

Battle report

Isamu: 4 damage Hand: 6

Kyousuke: 4 damage Hand: 5

"I stand and draw," Isamu said, "I ride Dark Illusionist, Robert!" The beast disappeared into a cloud of smoke and the stage turned dark. Then spotlights lit up the stage one by one, an elf dressed in a blue checker patterned suit with fur trimming and a red tie, his hat was in his hand while his wand on the other. He bowed to the crowd while doves flew from his hat. "Robert's skill activates. I soul charge one and I'm allow to check the top card of my deck while deciding to either put in on the top or bottom of my deck." He slided Nightmare Doll, Alice to the soul then he checked the top card and left it at the top.

"I call Jumping Jill to the left top," he placed the card down to the top left of the field. A dark skinned girl dressed in a colorful outfit appeared in front of Bunny.

"I attack your vanguard with Jumping Jill boosted by Midnight Bunny!" he turned the cards to their sides. Bunny waved good luck to Jill as she launched herself high in the sky.

"No guard," Kyousuke threw his top card of his deck: Blazing Flare Dragon to the damage zone.

"I activate Midnight Bunny's skill. When she boosts a Pale Moon unit and the attack succeed by counter blasting one, I put her into the soul and can call another Pale Moon unit as long as its not named "Midnight Bunny". I call Nightmare Doll, Alice to the grand stage to the top right," he said.

"I attack with Robert to your vanguard," Isamu said. Robert began to chant a spell, waving his wand in front of while his hat glowed.

"I guard with Lourdes and Blazing Core Dragon," the two cards floated down to the guardian circle. A young girl wearing a red armor with a serious face appeared alongside a large red dragon that had a flaming core in the center of his body.

"Twin Drive," Isamu revealed Rainbow Magician, "Draw trigger! I add the power to Alice and I draw a card." Then he revealed another Robert and put him in his hand. Robert launched his magic attack at the defense and they both disappeared from the field in a colorful cloud of smoke, however, Nehalem was left untouched.

"I attack Nehalem with Alice." Alice reached forward towards Nehalem.

"No guard," Kyousuke said. Dragon Monk, Genjo flew to the damage zone. "Heal trigger. I recover one damage and I add the power to Nehalem." Kyousuke removed a damage while Nehalem received a power boost.

"I use Alice's skill. By counter blasting one, I can put her into the soul and can call out another Pale Moon unit as long as it's not named "Nightmare Doll, Alice". I call out Mirror Demon in her place." Alice disappeared into a purple glow and a mirror replaced her. The demon inside the mirror popped out to wave at the crowd.

"I end my turn," Isamu said.

Battle report

Isamu: 4 damage Hand: 8

Kyousuke: 4 damage Hand: 3

"I stand and draw. I ride Blazing Flare Dragon!" Kyousuke slammed the card onto the field. Nehalem disappeared from the field. In his place was a giant red armored dragon with flaring guns. It gazed at the weaklings below him. "I call Berserk Dragon to the right. I use his skill. By counter blasting two, I choose to retire Mirror Demon from the field." The dragon blew a hot stream of crimson flames to Mirror Demon. The mirror shattered and the demon disappeared from the field. Isamu placed the card into the drop zone.

"Blazing Flare Dragon's skill activate. For every unit that are retired from my opponent's field, he gains 4k. Sutherland's skill also activates he gains plus 3k to his power. Both units received a power boost." Isamu got a little nervous from this.

"I use Conroe's skill. By counter blasting one, I can retire Conroe and can search for a Grade 1 or less Kagero unit to my hand. I choose Bahr." He looked through his deck and placed Bahr in his hand while putting Conroe in the drop zone.

"I call Bahr to the back of Blazing Flare Dragon. I attack Robert with Sutherland boosted by Reas. Reas's skill activates, Sutherland gains 4k to his power, turning the cards to their sides." Sutherland prepared for his attack while Reas look from behind with a sigh.

"I guard with Rainbow Magician and Midnight Bunny along with Jumping Jill intercepting," Isamu placed all three cards into the guardian circle. Sutherland stopped in his track at the group and retreated home.

"I attack your vanguard with Blazing Flare Dragon boosted by Bahr," Kyousuke said.

Isamu looked at his hand. He can guard this attack, but if Kyousuke gets a trigger, he might not be able to guard the last attack or rather if he got a Stand trigger, so he needs to count on his triggers to help him.

"No guard," he said to Kyousuke. Let's see if the circus will have another performance.

"Twin Drive," Kyousuke revealed Berserk Dragon. Then he revealed Embodiment of Spear, Tahr. "Critical trigger! I add all the effects to Blazing Flare Dragon!" The dragon unleashed a barrage of fires at Robert.

Purple Trapezist and Dark Metal Bicorn were tossed to the damage zone. Isamu sighed at his defeat. The other kids were all amazed at the match before them.

Battle report

Isamu: 6 damage Hand: 5

Kyosuke: 4 damage Hand: 4

"Here's your prize," Isamu said as he handed Alfred to Kyousuke, "You're pretty good for a player. By the way, my name is Isamu."

"Thanks. You too and my name is Kyousuke," he said to Isamu as he walked over to the counter.

Izumi was reading her book when Alfred appeared in front of the page she was reading. She looked up at Kyousuke with a funny look.

"Here, this card now belongs to you. I don't have any use for him. Royals are not my kind of playstyle," he said as he placed the card in her book.

"Why are you giving me this?" she asked with a confused look.

"Let's just say that this is payment for waking me up and for giving me the bun today at school," he said.

"You're pretty weird for a boy," she said to him as she took the card in hand.

"I can say the same thing to you," he smiled at her.

"So I've heard," she silently said.

"By the way the bun was pretty good. You're a pretty good cook," he remembered the bun being rather delicious.

"I didn't make the bun. My dad did," she said with a blush on her face turning away.

"Well my compliments to the chef. Maybe one day, I will sample something you make. Until then, bye~" he said with a smile and stepped out with a wave.

The others watched him go. Izumi looked at the card and sighed with a shake of her head.

* * *

At home...

Izumi was busy doing her homework. When she finished, she looked at her deck. She picked apart her deck and placed the cards on her table. Examining the cards carefully and rearranging them to see how she can rebuild her deck. Looking at Alfred for a bit and looking back at the cards, she figured he would be a great help to her.

_Hmmm...I can replace one of my Bors, but I have no use for Brigitte so I could remove him. If I remove him, then I should remove Tristan from my deck. What can I replace him with?_ she scratched her head with a frown on her face. She thought for a few more minutes.

"I guess I'll replace Brigitte with Alfred. Sorry, Brigitte. I'll put you with the others for now," she said to the card. Going through her drawer for a sec, she grabbed a plain sleeve and put Brigitte in it. Then she placed him next to the other cards she had kept in storage for the past years. Reaching for the box, she stared at the cards she gather over the year. She started to laugh a bit.

"Man, I need to do something with these. I wonder if I can give them all a nice home," she thought out loud. Then she put the box back while putting her deck back together. Walking out of her room for a bit, she decided to join her family in the living room. After eating dinner, she brushed her teeth and flopped down to sleep.

Her deck was glowing a bright light from her room.

* * *

Once again when Izumi fell asleep, she dreamt of the place again. This time it was at a different place. She opened her eyes to see a room instead of the grass fields like before.

"I have got to do something about this," she said as she looked around, "At least, its not in the woods this time. I wonder where I am?"

The room was decorated from the top to bottom with fancy looking things from crystal lamps to expensive wooden desks. There was bookshelves around the walls of the room. The bed was king size, there was also a white canopy above it and neatly clean. There was a bed sided drawer and a dresser near the bed. The way out was a double door opening, kinda like the old days where you have two halves are made together to make one door though it's usually not something that people have anymore at their homes. All in all, its plainly a room of a rich man or at least she dreamt that it belong to a rich man?

"Hmmm...I kinda wish it was the woods and not this room. This seems really out of the ordinary for me to be dreaming of this..." she said as she thought about it out loud. She stood near the left side of the bed and was deep in thought when the door opened and a tall man walked in with his eyes closed. He had his back to her while closing the door and sighing from what happened today.

At the same time, they turned around. A moment of silence passes through them as they stared at each other. The man was about to say something when he received a slap across the face with a pillow. He fell down to the floor while hold his head, lucky for him, he was wearing his helmet. Izumi looked down at the man then to the pillow she was holding.

Oh no... Izumi's stupidity strikes again. This time instead of squeaking in horror, it was a call for murder...with a pillow!

The man groaned while trying to regain his footing. Izumi was stuttering and embarrassed at what she has done.

"I'm so sorry! I d-didn't m-mean to do that. I just g-g-got scared and I d-didn't know that y-you were there. I just...uhhh...' she nervously said to the man while swaying back and forth in shock and embarrassment.

The man laugh. "Its alright. Not the first time, I ever received a hit to the face though I never got hit by a pillow. Oh well, there's a first time for everything I guess. May I ask you why are you here?" the man said as he stood up.

Izumi took a minute to compose herself. She took a breathe in and out. Turning to get a better look at the person, she ended up slapping with a pillow. The man was a tall and young. His red eyes were gentle and bright plus he had a smile on his face as well. His attire was a white armor with a blue cape that reached to his waist hanging from the back of his armor. He was also wearing a blue shirt of some kind that is clinging to his body with light blue lines running around them.

Izumi froze at the sight while the man looked at her funny. He waved his hands front of her face, but she didn't respond. He was starting to get worried. Then all of a sudden, Izumi dropped down to her knees with her hands in front of her as she kneel. That action surprised the man.

"I'm so sorry, your majesty. I didn't know that I, Izumi Hisa, slapped the king of the United Sanctuary...with a pillow. I am really sorry. Please tell my father that I have brought shame to the family and tell my brother to be strong. Make my death quick," she said to him.

The man looked at her for a sec before laughing out loud. Izumi looked up in surprised. He slowly regain himself from his laughing fit and smiled back at her.

"Don't worry about it. I'm not going to put you to death. We don't do that anymore at least I think we don't," he said to her.

"Oh. Alright then, King Alfred, please do what you deem is my punishment. I deserve one for my act," she cast downed her glaze.

"You can rise now, you know? Just forget about it. This happens all the time though most of the time though most of the times, they try to kill me with knives and poison...never a pillow. You learn something new everyday," Alfred chuckled silently.

"Oh," Izumi got up from her place, "I never thought that you were that forgiving, your majesty."

"Hm? I was always forgiving to people. I can't honestly stay mad at anyone. Please just call me Alfred," he said as he sat down on his bed, "So what brings you here? I don't often get visitors much less female ones."

Izumi blushed a little. "I just somehow got here. I don't know how, but I just opened my eyes and here I am," she took a seat down on the carpet.

Alfred thought for a bit. "You must have come from the Star Gate nation then. Seeing that not many people wear that type of clothing here on Cray," he said while looking at her.

She looked at her attire which was just her pjs, so yeah. Her face turned a bit more redder at the realization, but then turned back to confusion.

"Did you say Cray?" she asked.

Alfred looked at her with confusion, "Of course, this planet is called Cray. Its a popular destination for some odd reason, so we tend to get a lot of different people from different planets though most are robots, however, its rare for a tourist like you to appear."

"Why is that?" Izumi asked. She knew that humans do live here, but they are somewhat odd from the normal humans she knows.

"I never heard much about human-like tourists. Most of the time, robots are the usual thing with a few aliens here and there. Nothing too out of the ordinary here," he said.

Izumi hadn't really thought much about other nations. Her mother was more focused on telling stories of the United Sanctuary though she did mention a bit about the other nations, but Izumi was often falling asleep to them since most of them are bedtime stories.

"So I'm at the United Sanctuary, right?" she asked.

"That's right. We are currently in my room," he said with a smile.

"Isn't there like bodyguards outside your room? Why are they not coming in?" Alfred was an important person to the nation, so they are bound to put bodyguards for his safety.

"Huh? Oh, you mean the bodyguards? I don't actually have bodyguards, really. I do have friends if that counts," he shrugged at her question.

"Ehh...really? You don't have any bodyguards?"

"I do, but they're not outside the hallway."

"Why not? Wouldn't it be better to have someone outside protecting you?"

"Yes, that would be good. There is a slight problem to that..." Alfred sweat-dropped at the notion.

"That would be?" Izumi tilted her head sideways.

"Giants and dragons are not exactly small plus they don't like being indoors."

"Oh...right...forgot about that."

"Besides the castle is a magic building too. I don't really need bodyguards if the castle is protected by magic anyways."

"How so?"

"You see this room is not exactly part of the castle. Its a hidden room. The doors only appear to those who sworn an oath to protect the king, who is me, along with the people who are born to service the Royal Family."

"Must be hard finding this room."

"Oh, no. Its easy finding this room once you stayed here for most of your life, really."

"You literally live here? Like you never _left_ the castle?" Izumi was pretty shocked at that.

"Well, yeah. I didn't mind being struck here though it gets boring at times. I was allow to go outside when I joined the Royal Paladins."

"I see. It must be pretty lonely to be by yourself."

"A bit. I don't mind it at all, really. It allows me time to think about stuff. Besides I have many friends now so I'm happy."

"I'm glad to hear that. For a king, you are quite carefree."

"Well I'm carefree when no one is watching me or when I'm alone. I just put up a serious face so that people wouldn't be discourage, they need to know that there is nothing to fear."

"Aren't you ever afraid?" Fear is something that everyone have deep down. They might never admit it, but sometimes its okay to be afraid.

"Yes. I'm not a superhero or anything really. I'm human like everybody else. I have a good side and a dark side, but that's what it means to be human anyways."

"I see. Oh, yes where are my matters? My name is Izumi Hisa," she said to him.

"My name is Alfred, but I guess you already knew. Never thought my name would be that famous," he said to her.

"Its a little complicated back at where I live," she smiled shyly to him. He laugh silently.

"Ah. Can I ask you a question?" she said.

"Hm? Sure," he said.

"Do you by chance know a man by the name of Arthur?" she said. Alfred's eyes reflected a bit of sadness in his eyes for some reason.

"Yes, I do. He was my father," he said with a sad smile.

Before she could ask more, she awoke from her dream and she sat up from her bed. At the same time, Alfred heard a knock from the door. He turned to look at the door before Izumi disappeared into a tiny bits of light from the room.

"Yes?" he told to the person outside. The door opened slightly.

"I hope I am not intruding Alfred," a young man's voice said, "There is a meeting today with the others."

"Alright then. I'll come out soon," he turned to where Izumi was, "So sorry Izumi, but rig-" Alfred saw that Izumi was gone which was weird, he started to look around his room for her.

"Is something the matter, Alfred? Its looks like you have seen a ghost or something?" The young man walked into the room. His calm sharp green eyes never miss a thing especially when it comes to understanding Alfred.

"Oh, A- I mean Blaster Blade. No...I just thought I saw something that's all," he said as he walked out of the room while Blaster Blade followed him behind.

"You still having trouble calling me "Blaster Blade"?" he asked Alfred as they walked to the entrance to the board meeting.

"Well its hard to call anyone by a different name if you knew them for so long," Alfred said as he stepped through the entrance. Blaster Blade didn't say anything as he followed along.

* * *

Izumi was busy trying to understand what had just happened. Her head was buzzing with memories of her dream or at least it was dream to her.

"Man, I really need to do something about this. I just hope that it doesn't happen all the time," she said as she packed her bag to go to school. There was a test today, so she needed to do her best.

During class, she was busy doing her test while thinking about what was happening to her. When she was done, she double-checked her answers just in case. Haru was struggling while Kyousuke was actually doing the test. Never thought that could happen for a person who sleeps through class.

The lunch bell rung. Students scramble to get out of class for lunch. Haru hopped over to Izumi with her lunch.

"I need a break," she plotted her head down on Izumi's desk

"Well the four days off is next week, so why not just go to your parent's beach house? You always like going there," Izumi slowly opened her bento.

"Not if I'm alone~ Come on, let's go together. You can bring your dad and Hiro to there," Haru smiled hopefully.

"Well...alright then if you keep asking," she said to her. Haru was happily raised her hands up and was smiling big. Izumi looked behind to see Kyousuke sleeping again. She walked over to him with something in her hand.

She shook him awake. He slowly opened his eyes and stared at her. She handed him a small clear bag that has a sandwich in it. He raised an eyebrow at her gesture.

"Something I made. You said you want to sample my food," she said blushing though she had her face turned away from him. Haru was looking with a little interest at what her friend was doing. He reached for the sandwich and took it out. Taking a bite, he smiled.

"Its good," he said, "You should cook more."

"Maybe I will...if you keep skipping lunch like this," she walked back to Haru to finish her lunch with her. He chuckled silently as he starts to eat his sandwich. Classes resumed for the day and when it was finished everyone rushed off. Izumi waved goodbye to Haru. She turned to see Kyousuke awake and was actually leaving on his own. Something that was new to her, but she didn't mind it if it saves her the trouble of waking him up.

She was walking with Hiro in hand to her work when Haru ran up to her. Apparently she followed her while she was not looking.

"Hey, guys!" she was breathing hard as she took the gulps of air into her lungs, "I wanted to talk more about the trip next week."

"What trip?" Hiro asked his sister. He didn't hear anything about a trip.

"Oh, the trip to my parent's beach house? Didn't Izumi said anything to you about it?" Haru asked.

"No, she didn't. Onee-chan didn't say anything about it," he said.

"Oh, Izumi, you forgetful idiot~" Haru sang merrily.

"I'm not that forgetful..." Izumi said in her defense.

"Right...remember the time when we- " Haru didn't get to finish when Izumi gave her the stare. She immediately shut up and walked alongside them to the shop.

Her boss greeted her. He was amazed at who else came along. "I'm surprised you brought a friend along," he said.

"She just followed me here, so really-" she was interrupted by Haru who stepped in front of her.

"Hi there! My name is Haru Leika! I'm currently the same age and go to the same school as Izumi here. I'm her best friend," she said as she shook both his hands. He was pretty dumbfounded at her energy fill personality. Izumi sighed at her friend's actions while Hiro slipped away to the counter.

While Haru was talking to her boss, she noticed Isamu walking in. He was wearing a light brown sweater with a pair of blue jeans. His eyes gleamed in the light, reflecting his emerald eyes. His brown hair was as messy as before. He waved at Izumi while walking forward to her.

"Who's that talking to your boss?" he asked her while looking at Haru.

"That would be my friend. She's a little odd in the head," she answered him.

"I see. So is Kyousuke coming here?" he asked her.

"I don't know. He isn't really a regular here, so I don't know. We're not exactly friends either if you are asking," she told Isamu.

"Oh well, I was hoping to challenge him to a match today. Maybe I can convince him to join my team, he said. Izumi raised an eyebrow at that.

"What team?" a voice called out. Izumi and Isamu both turned to see Kyousuke standing at the doorway. He was dressed in a blue coat with a white shirt beneath it and a pair of normal sneakers. His bracelet was hanging loosely on his left wrist. He had a bored expression on his face.

"Speak of the devil," she said as she walked to the back to put on her worker uniform.

"Hey, man! How about you join my team?" Isamu said to Kyousuke.

"Why?" he asked as they walked over to a table to talk. Izumi was walking out of a room with her worker uniform on. Haru and her boss was talking about how to make the store more appealing for everyone with the talk of putting up posters or fixing up the sign outside or even better a slogan.

"Well the tournament is in a few months and we can enter if we have a team," he said, "We, first though need a team before anything else."

"I'll join...but only if Izumi joins," Isamu looked up in surprised while Izumi was pretty surprised as well.

"How come?" Isamu asked. He was puzzled at what Kyousuke was saying.

"She is a good player. She can be an important asset to the team plus we need at least two more members to join us before anything else," he said.

"If that is okay with you, Izumi. Would you like to join the team?" Isamu asked with a hopeful face.

Izumi thought about it. She was never a sociable person much less someone who can work with others. It was a new experience for her, but she was still a beginner so her being in the team would just bring them down.

"To tell you the truth..." she began.

"You don't need to join us if you don't want to. We're not forcing you," Isamu said to her, "Winning is not what I am looking forward to rather I look forward to the fun that me and my team would have."

"Beside winning isn't what Vanguard is about anyways," Kyousuke silently said.

Izumi looked at them for a sec. Then after a bit of silence, nodded at their request. Isamu beamed while Kyousuke silently smiled. Hiro moved to make himself comfortable sitting on his sister's lap. She patted him on the head as he settled down.

"Alright then. All we need is one more player. Where are we going to get another player?" Isamu said.

Then out of the blue, the door to the shop bursted opened. A tall shadow appeared at the doorway while the others were dumbfounded at what just happen.

"I finally found you," a male voice said. They all turned to see a young man who appears to be at least 16 years old. He has black hair that was quite messy and jagged even more than Isamu's and his black eyes were bold and confident. Wearing a black T-shirt and black pants, he was a sore thumb especially when in a group of bright color shirt wearing people. He was wearing a necklace that has a heart shaped pendant encrusted in gold and silver with the heart being bright red in color.

He slowly walked to Kyousuke, "You there! I challenge you to a cardfight."

"Why? I don't even know you," Kyousuke responded back to him.

"You may not know me, but I know that it was you who defeated my brother. I request you to fight me," he growled out. Kyousuke was not pleased at all and stood up to stand his ground.

"Hey, now. Let's come down," Isamu said as he tried to calm both of them down. They both ignored him, they seem to want to start a fight. Haru and Izumi's boss was getting a little scared at what was going to happen.

"Stop this instant!" a voice shouted out. They all turned to see Izumi with her arms crossed. Hiro was hiding behind her with his face half-covered by her legs, she pushed him a little more behind her.

"Why should I?" the boy said as he approached her.

"Because I said so," Izumi stood her ground. Hiro never seen his sister like that before.

"Fine. I wouldn't start a fight unless you fight me in a cardfight. I'll stop with the whole revenge thing too if you beat me," he quietly chuckled.

Izumi sighed and agreed if it means that he leaves the shop alone. They set up the table to begin their match. The others were watching from the sidelines. Hiro was sitting on Haru's lap as they both watched Izumi fight.

"Stand up, Vanguard!"

"Stardust Trumpeter!"

"Guiding Zombie!"

On the battlefield, two units appeared. A young red haired girl holding a small trumpet appeared with a smile on her face while opposite to the field was a blueish purple looking hum except its not human at all. His left eye was covered up, his right eye popped out pretty, half of his mouth was like bone and his hair was falling apart. He was wearing a butler suit and seems to have a hunch like posture. He was holding a lantern in front of him and he waved slowly to Stardust who was a bit scared at his appearance.

"Granblue, huh?" Izumi said as she looked at the unit.

"Yep. They may be dead, but not when the sea calls for them to rise. A zombie can't resist a party especially when they can't die," the man said.

"What's your name anyways?" Kyousuke asked from the sidelines.

The man looked up. "My name is Ryouji Praeke. Remember it well, because after this match, I will challenge you next." Kyousuke was not interested while Isamu just sweat-dropped with a nervous smile.

Izumi drew her card. "I ride Lake Maiden, Lien!" Stardust disappeared away. In her place, was a blue haired woman with her eyes closed and both her hands were holding a sword. "I end my turn."

"I draw. I ride Samurai Spirit!" The zombie disappeared into the gusts of dirt and air. In his place, was a headless samurai armor with orange flames coming out of it. It was holding a flaming sword in hand as it growl to the air after all it doesn't even have a head. "Guiding Zombie's skill activates. When another Granblue unit rides this unit, I call it to the rearguard. I move him to the back of Spirit." The blueish purple zombie appeared once more again.

"I call Dandy Guy, Romairo to the left top." Another zombie made an appearance. This time, it was more bluer than the other one. His appearance was like other zombie with missing teeth, wrinkled skin and torn clothes. He had a rose in his mouth for some odd reason. He winked at the direction at Lien, but she ignored it probably because her eyes were closed.

"I attack with Romairo!" turning the card to its side.

"No guard." Izumi placed Wingal to the damage zone. Romairo pointed his rose at Lien and a burst of rose petals aimed at Lein, cutting her in the process.

"I attack Lien with Samurai Spirit boosted by Guiding Zombie," he said as he turned the cards to their sides.

"No guard," Izumi said.

"Drive Check," Ryouji revealed the top card of his deck: Rough Sea Banshee, "Critical trigger! I add all the effects to Spirit!"

The headless armor jumped up and slashed Lien straight on. She let out a cry while Izumi placed two cards to the damage zone: Lake Maiden, Lien and Weapons Dealer, Govannon.

"Draw trigger! I add the power to Lien and I draw a card," she said as she draw a card.

"I end my turn," Ryouji said.

Battle report

Ryouji: 0 damage Hand: 5

Izumi: 3 damage Hand: 6

"I draw. I ride Knight of Silence, Gallatin!" Lien disappeared into the blue light. A dark skinned man wearing a blindfold appeared onto the field. "I call Marron to the left top." A young blue haired boy giant appeared on the field.

"I attack Spirit with Marron," she said as she turned the card to its rest position.

"No guard," he said and placed John the Ghostie to the damage zone. Marron chanted a spell and launched it at Samurai Spirit causing an explosion to happen.

"I attack with Gallatin to your vanguard," she said.

No guard, he said as he stared at the field.

"Drive check," she revealed Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine. A green glow appeared from it. "Heal trigger! I add the power to Gallatin and I heal one damage." She removed Wingal from the damage zone to the drop zone. Gallatin reached for his sword and unleashed it at Spirit causing a scratch on him.

Ryouji tossed Captain Nightmist to the damage zone.

Battle report

Ryouji: 2 damage Hand: 5

Izumi: 2 damage Hand: 6

"I stand and draw. I ride Ruin Shade!" The flaming headless armored spirit disappeared. In its place was a shadow figure shaped in a female body dressed in a vice-captain suit. Her face was hidden in the shadows that is her body with her eyes that only part that is visible. Her light blonde hair was splitted into two braids that was tied with a ribbon at each end. Her sword was ready to strike anything.

"I move Romairo to the back and call Commodore Blueblood!" The zombie moved to the back, allowing a blue skin colored vampire dressed in a pirate suit with a gun in hand to take it's place. He was smirking at his opponents.

"I attack Gallatin with Blueblood boosted by Romairo!" Romairo lent his power to Blueblood as he took aim at Gallatin.

"I guard with Starlight Unicorn!" she placed the card onto the guardian circle. A white unicorn armored with a rainbow armor appeared in front of Gallatin. Blueblood withdraw his gun.

"I attack Gallatin with Ruin Shade boosted by Guiding Zombie!" he said, "I activate Ruin's Shade's skill by dropping two cards from the top of my deck, I can add 2k to her power." He dropped two cards into the drop zone: Captain Nightmist and Dancing Cutlass. Ruin Shade prepared for her attack.

"No guard," she said.

He moved his hand to his deck with his eyes closed. "Hmmm...no trigger, huh?" he said as he revealed Monster Frank. The others were confused at what he meant. Its not like you can tell when you get a trigger, right?

Izumi placed Knight of Convictions, Bors to the damage zone.

Battle report

Ryouji: 2 damage Hand: 4

Izumi: 3 damage Hand: 5

"I stand and draw. I ride Knight of Kings, Alfred!" Gallatin disappeared into the blue light. A blue skinned horse with a orange flaming mane and tail appeared, it reared itself to battle. Riding on top of the horse was a knight dressed in a white armor, holding a great sword in his left hand as he settle down his steed. His red eyes stared out to the field while showing a stern face.

Everyone was amazed at seeing Izumi using one of the best Royal Paladin cards out there. Kyouskue chuckled while Isamu smiled and wondered if she can pull off using him. Royuji just kept a straight face.

"I move Marron to the back and call Knight of Conviction, Bors. I call Gallatin to the top right and also Starlight Unicorn to the back of Gallatin. Bors and Sunlight Unicorn appeared to the field in roll call.

"I activate Starlight Unicorn's skill. When its placed in the rearguard, I can add 2k to any Royal Paladin unit on the field. I choose Bors!" Starlight lent some of its power to Bors.

"I attack Ruin Shade with Gallatin boosted by Starlight Unicorn!" turning the cards to their sides. Gallatin prepared for the attack.

"No guard. At least the draw trigger will help," he said. He was right as soon as he tossed Hook-Wielding Zombie to the damage zone, it glowed a red light. "Draw trigger. I give the power to Ruin Shade and I draw a card." Gallatin slashed at Shade and retreated back to his position.

"I attack with Alfred. His skill activates when he is in the vanguard circle, for every Royal Paladin units on the field, he gains 2k for each one," she said as she turned the card to its side. Alfred ready his steed for his attack.

Ryouji thought for a moment. "No guard," he said.

"Twin Drive," Izumi first revealed Flogal, "Stand trigger. I add all the effects to Gallatin!" Gallatin once again rise, this time with a bit of help from the trigger.

She then revealed Blaster Blade and added to her hand. Ryouji was surprised that she had that card, but nonetheless he remained unfazed.

Alfred lifted up his sword and with one wave he slashed it downward. It caused a ripple of energy to cross over, colliding with Ruin Shade at the end. Ryouji placed Three Star Chef, Pietro to the damage zone.

"I attack Blueblood with Gallatin," she said as she turned the card to its side. Gallatin prepared his attack.

"No guard," he said. Gallatin strike Blueblood straight on. The vampire let out a groan before leaving the field. Ryouji placed the card into the drop zone.

"I attack with Bors boosted by Marron to your vanguard," she said.

"I guard with Rough Sea Banshee," he placed the card into the guardian zone. A young girl wearing a brown frill dress with a pair of headphones on her head and a eye patch that was covering her right eye. Bors stopped and walked back to his position.

"I end my turn," she said.

Battle report

Ryouji: 4 damage Hand: 4

Izumi: 3 damage Hand: 4

"I stand and draw. I ride Master Swordsman, Nightstorm!" Ruin Shade disappeared from the field. In her place was a vampire dressed in a captain's uniform with his fancy hat and shoes. He was smirking and waving his sword around. "I counter blast one and retire Romario! Rise again from the depths of the uncharted sea, Captain Nightmist to the right top!" Romario disappeared to the depths of the sea. A vampire dressed in a captain s suit appeared. His wavy black hair moved in the wind while he keeps his sword up.

"I call another Commodore Blueblood! I attack Alfred with Blueblood!" he turned the card to it's side. Blueblood prepared for his shot at his target, but Alfred remained unfazed by it.

Izumi looked at her hand and field. "No guard," she said as she placed Knight of Silence, Gallatin to the damage zone. Blueblood fires some shots at Alfred causing him some pain.

"I attack your vanguard with Nightstorm boosted by Guiding Zombie. Nightstorm's skill activates if there is a Granblue unit he gains +2k to his power," he said. Nightstorm prepared for his attack.

"I guard with Flogal and Eliane!" she dropped the cards into the guardian circle. A elf dressed in a light green dress and a pink dog with a red bow on her head appeared in front of Alfred. Nightstorm stopped in his attack.

"Lucky you," Ryouji said as he revealed King of Demonic Seas, Basskirk and Rough Sea Banshee. "Critical trigger. I add all the effects to Nightmist."

"I attack Bors with Nightmist," he said.

"No guard," Izumi said. Nightmist landed an attack on Bors causing him to disappear. She placed the card into the drop zone.

"I end my turn," he said.

"He wants to get rid of the rearguards so Alfred can not gain power from them being on the field," Isamu noted.

"If you can't attack the leader, attack the members of the group. Izumi will have to either use her hand in order to replace the unit lost on the field," Kyousuke said, "If she can afford it."

Battle report

Ryouji: 4 damage Hand: 5

Izumi: 4 damage Hand: 2

"I stand and draw," she said. "I call Blaster Blade to the left!" Blaster Blade made his appearance on the field with a calm face. "I activate his skill. By counter blasting two, I can retire one of my opponent s Grade 2 or lower. I retire Blueblood from the field." She flipped two cards in the damage zone and Blaster Blade lifted his sword, crushing its tip into the ground. A blue ripple of lighting shot forward to Blueblood and shocked him making him retreat into the sea.

"I attack with Gallatin boosted by Starlight to your vanguard," she turned the cards to their sides. Gallatin reached for his sword.

"I guard with Rough Sea Banshee," he placed the card into the guardian circle. The young girl dressed in a brown dress appeared in front of Nightstorm. Gallatin stopped in his step and retreated back. Nightstorm patted Banshee on the head before she disappeared.

"I attack with Blaster Blade boosted by Marron to your vanguard," she said. Marron flowed his power to Blaster Blade as he took his stance for his fight.

"I guard with Skeleton Lookout," he said as he placed the card into the guardian circle. A skeleton wearing worn out clothes with a telescope appeared in front of Nightstorm. One of his eyeball was in the telescope while the other one is in his head. Blaster Blade stopped in his path and retreated back with a glare.

"I attack Nightstorm with Alfred. Alfred's skill activates for every Royal Paladin units on the field, he gains +2k for each of them," she said as she turned the card to its side. Alfred prepared his steed for his fight.

Ryouji looked at his hand and field. He sighed, "No guard."

"Twin Drive," she revealed Epona. "Critical trigger! I add all the effects to Alfred." Then she revealed Marron as her second check.

Alfred lifted up his sword and delivered a blow to Nightstorm. Ryouji placed Nightmist and Cutlass to the damage zone.

Battle report

Ryouji: 6 damage Hand: 3

Izumi: 4 damage Hand: 4

Everyone was pretty amazed at the match before them. They clapped at the end.

"That was a pretty good match," Isamu said as stared at the outcome. Kyousuke said nothing.

Izumi sighed at her win. She was getting better at this. "You promise to not cause a ruckus, right?" she said to Ryouji as he packed his cards away. He nodded to her question though he was still glaring at Kyousuke.

"Hey, why don't you join our team?" Isamu asked Ryouji, "We need another member for our team for the upcoming tournament."

"What's in it for me?" he asked Isamu. Isamu thought for a bit.

"Well you get some good experience along with meeting new people and going to places," Isamu said, "Plus we get to fight the best of the best who wouldn t want that?"

"I guess. I would like to sharpen my skills," he thought for a moment.

"Hey, at least you can challenge Kyousuke here as much as you want. After all, he is in our team anyways, right?" Isamu said as he turned to Kyousuke.

"Only if Izumi is willing to. I need an answer from her and not a nod from her head," he said as he turned to her.

Izumi thought for a moment. She looked up to them, "Yes, I ll join."

"Yes! Now we have a team!" Isamu exclaimed loudly.

This is the start of their difficult journey as they each find out their own path in this tale of destiny.


	4. OC format

At this point, I am allowing you, the readers, to make your own OCs and have them appear in this story.

This is the format I want you guys to follow:

Name:  
Age:  
Gender:  
Appearance:  
Personality:  
Deck List:  
Grade 0:  
Grade 1:  
Grade 2:  
Grade 3:

A few things to address:

1. Please don't have your OCs have PSY Qualia. I have already planned out most of things for that already if you guys haven't caught on. I will allow any other kind of abilities like perfect memory and such.

2. Clans I don't want are: Aqua Force, Angel Feather, Numbatama, Link Joker, Genesis, Narukami and Gold Paladins. Sub-clans that I don't want are Jewel Knights and Revengers. I am mainly sticking to Season One clans and nothing more so if you guys watched Season One through and through, I think you will have a general idea on what this story is going to be about though it will have plenty of twists and turns. I will, however, allow OCs with these clans listed above to be in the sequel that I've planned (weirdly enough I just thought up a sequel already).

3. Although Great Nature did not appear in Season One, I'm allowing them to be in this story. Numbatama didn't recieve support until Set 13 so that is way too long and I can't fit them in the story, so sorry. Link Joker for many reasons is not allow to be in here. Gold Paladins and Narukami will make an appearance when the sequel is up. The rest I'm sure you know why.

4. You may submit as many as you want, however, I will not use all of them. For example, you give me five OCs though I will only be using three of them. They might make an appearance in the sequel.

5. Your OCs may just make one or two appearances throughout the story, but they will either win or lose depending on how the match is done. I will not make them lose on purpose, but I will not tell you which one of your OCs will lose.

6. If your OCs are meant to be in a team then give me their team name. If they only have 2 members, I'll add one or two more OCs of my creation in to make it a team.

7. I don't mind mixed deck either, however if you have figured out what my main characters are using by now and by the time the story is reaching the climax then I wouldn't suggest you to make the same deck as them.

NOTE: I will have this OC submit up for the rest of the story. So yes, I don't have a deadline for this just yet. I might delete this one day until then this is going to stay up for the time being.


End file.
